Dark Play
by Seth's Kiss
Summary: A.U: After working hard lately, Sakura has been given a full month off. A best friend of hers, Ino, wants to make the best of it and take her along to Paris, but Sakura passes up the occasion. But she quickly regrets her choice when two twisted brothers on the run choose her home as their own personal playground. Dark fic as there is violence, non-con (MxF/MxFxM) and incest (MxM).
1. Prologue: Before It All Began

**Dark Play (a Naruto Fanfiction) by Seth's Kiss:**

A/N: Hi everyone! My name's Seth's Kiss. I'd just like to say that though this is not my first fic, it _is_ my first Naruto fic (and I'm a little nervous). I'm still quite new at all this, hence, any advice within your reviews is, as always, warmly welcomed... **H** **owever** , if this story is not to your liking or you sense something off, please mention it, but in a very polite way: if this fic offends you, my advice to you is very simple: Don't read...I'm pretty sure that there are plenty of other fics out there to your liking just waiting for you. Thank you for your consideration.

Warnings: This fanfic will contain dark mature themes (violence, psychosis, emotional and physical torture, molestation, sexual abuse, BDSM, non-con, and so on (it gets worse the further you read...or better, for those of you who enjoy stories like these), so it will be **rated M** : if you've read my other fics (notably 'the Fallen series' (a Bleach fic) and 'Red & Blue' (a Death Note fic)), you'll surely notice that 'fluff' is not quite my strong point. Also, I'm more often than not too fond of writing with cuss words yet do expect to find one or two, here and there within chapters. Again, if these themes or anything else doesn't appeal to you, either because it offends you or you are still underage: _Please_ , **do not read this fic**.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto series or its characters, as it all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto (who I _sincerely_ admire for inventing such commendable work since 1997); I  do own **everything else** (which is just the plot in this case): it all comes from my eccentric imagination. I'd also like to apologize beforehand if any of the characters are in any way O.O.C, so let me know when you believe they are: I mean, I'll try as hard as I can to keep them in character, but I tend to let my  writing take over my imagination (and it can be _quite_ annoying to a certain extent).

Official Summary: A.U: After working very hard lately, Sakura has been given a full month off and she's overjoyed. Her best friend, Ino, wants to make the best of it and take her to Paris with her, but Sakura passes up the occasion, wishing to stay home. But she quickly regrets her choice when two twisted brothers on the run choose her house to be their own personal playground. Dark fic as there is violence, non-con (M x F / M) and incest (M x M).

 **Prologue:** Before It All Began:

Drumming her slender fingers on the driving wheel in tandem to music playing on the radio, an action which made the multiple silver bracelets upon her wrists tinkle against each other, Sakura swayed from side to side in the seat of her car as she mouthed the lyrics to a song she hadn't even known of until a few minutes ago. What could she say? It was a very catchy tune.

Her mobile phone suddenly went off and she hastened to grab it, reaching out a dainty hand to the passenger seat where her handbag was as to rummage through it, whilst keeping her eyes staunchly on the road: due to her profession, she was constantly reprimanding those who came in way too close to being paralyzed for life or - God forbid - to certain death because of car accidents, and she'd be an utter fool to not heed her own advice.

Finding her phone, she flips it open and holds it to her ear, not bothering to check who was calling, though the voice on the other line instantly let her know who it was: _"Sakura-chan!"_

"Ino!" greeted the young driving woman just as brightly, a smile to her rose lips "What's up?"

" _Guess what?"_ chimed the other giddily over the phone, sounding over the moon with joy.

"What?" Sakura asked just as enthusiastically, her friend's happiness awfully contagious.

Giggling mischievously, Ino drawled out: _"Come on, you tell me."_

The other merely rolled her vivid emerald eyes at the other's playfulness: "Ino, I'm not a mind-reader."

There was a pause at that: _"You can't mind-read through phones, silly."_

"Making me even less capable of ever guessing why you're calling..." retorted Sakura with a shake of her head, smile still in place "Come on, Ino, don't leave hanging now that you got me all curious."

" _Killjoy... Well, work has been good lately and given the fact that I_ _ **need**_ _a break, I'm going to Paris, for one_ _ **full**_ _month, baby!"_

"Wow! Good for you! I'm so happy!"

" _And you're coming with me!"_

" _What_?!" cried out Sakura with a surprised laugh as she pinned the phone in place with her shoulder, so she could wave at a familiar face along the road, who cheerfully waved back "Thanks, but no, Ino. I can't."

" _But why_ _ **not**_ _?!"_ gasped out the other significantly as if deeply offended by her best friend's refusal _"You've got a month off too, don't you?"_

"Yes, I do" she confirmed with a redundant nod the other couldn't see "But I'm _not_ travelling. I'd rather kick back and stay at home."

" _But that's so_ _ **boring**_ _! Don't you wanna have fun? Go sightseeing? Get a boyfriend? Paris is the capital of_ _ **love**_ _and guys from over there are said to be_ _ **so**_ _romantic!"_

Sakura rolled her eyes again at her best friend's dramatics: "I'll never have a chance at love and you know that."

" _ **What**_ _? Why not?"_ cried out Ino aghast before reprimanding her friend _"And don't you dare say it's because you're ugly or something 'cause you_ _ **are**_ _pretty! Not as much as me but_ _ **still**_ _!"_

" _Vain_ " Sakura chuckled before she bit her lip, trying to find the best way to put her dilemma "I...intimidate them. You know, with those anger issues of mine?"

" _Girl, you have a sweet side_ _ **too**_ _. And those who can't see that just don't deserve you. Everyone has a good side, a bad side, a light and dark side respectively."_

"Philosophical much...? Yeah well, seems like no one can see it. There only three idiots I know who _do_ : one of them is married to Hinata, the other is married to his _gym_ , and the third is more into those of his gender" she finished with a bitter sigh, her words causing Ino to burst out laughing, which managed to make Sakura smile again.

" _I know what you mean. All the good guys are married, completely oblivious or gay, that it?"_

"Something like that" Sakura sighed again, though this time, a little louder.

" _Still...you're prince charming is surely out there waiting for you"_ said Ino sympathetically.

"Ino, I'm a _pre-med student_ " reminded the other with a huff "Fairytales aren't made for me."

Sakura's friend groaned in exasperation: _"God, since when have you ever been_ _ **this**_ _pessimistic? If I wasn't already at the airport and nearly getting ready to board, I would have dragged you with me."_

"I know you _would_. Thanks Ino. Really, I'm touched, but I don't think I'd have the energy to travel. I just want to relax and be at home. I miss it."

" _Literally feeling homesick, huh?"_

"Well, when you spend all day at the hospital, plus late hours, _plus_ extra hours, I feel like I'm entitled to be homesick."

" _Ugh...I don't know_ _ **how**_ _you do it. Thank God I'm a court judge."_

"If you say so" uttered Sakura with a wrinkled nose, she too not understanding _how_ Ino could deal with her chosen profession. A _Court Judge_ for goodness' sake!

" _I_ _ **know**_ _so. Well, I'm leaving for Paris! Bye, girl! Love you! I'll bring you a souvenir, 'kay?"_

"Thank you, Ino. Have a nice trip and lots of good fun."

Ino hummed before her next words were _dripping_ with suggestive hints: _"Oh, I plan to_ _ **have LOTS**_ _of 'good fun'... Bye!"_

"Crazy girl" chuckled Sakura with a fond smile, as she hang up whilst she eased down the rocky road before parking right in front of the garage to her house and killing the engine.

Grabbing her handbag and her medical kit from the back seat, Sakura tucked a few stray strands of her long bright pink locks behind an ear as she exited the car and directed herself to the front door of her humble abode.

It wasn't grandiose nor was it small, it was simply midway perfect to her, resembling a sort of cottage house that would come across straight from a Grim Brothers' storybook, lost somewhere in the forest up in the mountains.

All the way in the far right hand corner from the village where she worked, it was kind of isolated - even the majority of her friends did not like her being so far off from civilization, only for her to carelessly shrug away at their worries - but Sakura liked it that way, enjoying the peace and quiet, especially after all the hectic noise she daily found in her line of work.

Humming softly the same tune from before, she unlocked the front entrance and let herself in before closing the door behind her, utterly unmindful to the hefty ominous silence that had weaved itself within the usually animated forest, and entirely unaware that she wasn't _alone_.

"Otouto" spoke up an intensely deep and smooth yet strongly dark emotionless voice, softly addressing the one with him, as they both kept their eyes riveted upon the house before them.

"Nii-sama" acknowledged the other instantly, holding the exact same tone as the other in his company, only with a timbre lower, sounding slightly more youthful than the former.

"I believe that we've stumbled upon a perfect gem" commented the elder brother with a smile as his raised his eyebrows appreciatively at the residence standing in the middle of nowhere.

"I agree. Too bad it's already taken. Should we wipe the house clean?"

"Now, where's the fun in _that_?" laughed out the eldest of the two before he shook his head decisively "No, I think we should just move in and simply play dirty a little at first..."

"And _then_ get rid of the pest if it becomes far too boring" completed the younger brother with a casual nod of his head before he considered a detail "But what if it doesn't _want_ to play?"

A chilling wide smirk leisurely graced the other's lips, swiftly mirrored by the younger sibling before the former even pronounced the words: "Since _when_ has that ever stopped us, hm?"

A/N: So...This idea came to me recently and I told myself: 'I _have_ to write this'; as a result and despite the fact that I'm working on a more time-taxing fic (see: the Fallen series, a Bleach fic), I decided to torture myself and work on yet _another one_ just as time-consuming: I'm _definitely_ lacking a certain common sense given the _very_ little time I have to _actually_ write fanfics at all. So to be brief about this very fic, I had the inspiration after watching the cruel and twisted thriller movie _'Knock, Knock'_ featuring Keanu Reeves: this fic isn't _exactly_ like the movie but it follows the same concept of two slightly if not _completely_ deranged individuals invading a third person's life, making the latter a helpless victim to their sick games. And it _is_ scary no matter how hard someone tries to convince themselves that it's not.

So, I'll be honest with you and say now that updates will be irregular (time isn't on my side unfortunately, I barely get by as it is), but please do tell what you think as I really encourage you to share your thoughts, opinions and anticipations. See you around and hopefully soon!


	2. Chapter 1: It Begins

**Dark Play (a Naruto Fanfiction) by Seth's Kiss:**

A/N: Hello again! Sorry it took so long but like I said, updates _will_ be irregular, yet I shall _try_ to post a new chapter within every month that has 31 days (it follows the plot for this fic but I won't say more), maybe even two chapters if we're lucky. That aside, I'm honestly and genuinely astonished by how many of you actually chose to read this fic, when I had only posted the prologue! I logged in a month after uploading it and was all like 'WHOA, _THAT_ MUCH?!' Thank you to everyone, to those who've followed (more than **15 Follows** , _WOW_!), to those who've read and to those who've put this on their favourites! In addition, a _very_ big thanks to **Octohoney** (my very first reviewer) and **Jourdana** (my second reviewer)! Thank you guys! Please do enjoy the update everyone! On a personal note, I wrote most of this chapter with the _Dead Silence_ music theme. It was chilling enough...

 **To Jourdana:** Hello and thank you for your review! Fact is, your review gave me the boost necessary to finish this chapter (when I was moping before that, given that my laptop died, again)! Thanks a million! I'm so happy that you found a fic to your liking and I sincerely hope you'll enjoy the rest of it! Ah, and as for the brothers' relationship, there is actually a reason and a purpose behind it, which will be explained later. Hope to hear from you again!

 **Chapter 1:** It Begins:

Cooped up within the warmth of her sofa and huddled between its large cushions, along with a thick blanket upon her knees, Sakura flipped through the late evening channels with the remote in one hand, whilst she had the other digging her spoon in the ice-cream crammed carton rested upon her lap, readying herself for another mouthful of swirled toffee and vanilla.

While leisurely savouring its flavour and letting it melt upon her tongue, she kept the spoon in her mouth, freeing her hand to readjust her reverberant glasses as she stared attentively at the TV, having halted her scouting upon stumbling on an interesting movie scene.

The young woman had never been quite fond of romantic films, however, were she to stumble upon them, she just couldn't help herself from watching, curiosity tempting her, envy burning at her. For though she had told Ino that love wasn't meant for her, there were times where she _did_ long to have someone she could call her own, someone she could love unconditionally.

Whereas most of her surroundings were quick to fuel their love-life ever since she was in middle-school, Sakura was nose deep in her studies, turning down those who tried to get close to her, shying away from relationships _and_ friendships. She would have actually been majorly friendless if it wasn't for Ino, Hinata, Neji, Lee and Naruto all butting in her life at some point and staunchly proclaiming themselves as her friends, not once taking no for an answer.

And she truly adored them for that, for given those five's status back at school so worlds apart from hers - back then, Ino Yamanaka was studious but also the head of the cheerleaders' squad; Naruto Uzumaki and Lee Rock were both amazing athletes, the first excelling in basketball and the latter in all sports but that; Neji Hyuuga and Hinata Hyuuga, because of their striking features were respectively known as the 'Stern Prince' and the 'Shy Princess' of their school, the five of them together adored and envied by all - were they anybody else, they wouldn't have ever bothered with her.

That aside, now that she was twenty-four, she regretted having rejected all those confessions she ever received, because when lost in the world of adults, being alone wasn't favourable.

Sakura didn't consider herself to be overly attractive, but between the stares she got outside and the flirting she received at work; she supposed that she did appeal...albeit it coming from the most peculiar type of men, some of them being way too insistent or far too pushy for her taste.

It was at times like this that one of her five friends, Neji, Hinata's older cousin, came into play, posing as her boyfriend. Given that he lived not far from where she worked, all she had to do was send him an ' _SOS'_ text and, whether it was to accompany her home or stay by her side he would come straight over, until others got the hint. And given the fact that he was extremely talented at acting, everyone was convinced, not once noticing that he was gay.

A smile came to her lips as Sakura recalled when she had admitted to Hinata that she found her cousin cute, only for the one in question to overhear it before playfully making her realize that no girl ever stood a chance in attempting to woe him.

Ah. Her and her luck with men.

Brushing that last quite depressing thought aside, she turned her attention back to the TV screen and watched as the couple in the movie spoke sweet words to each other, with their foreheads leaned one against the other, before the guy tucked behind the girl's ear stray stands the gentle breeze blew around. Sakura blushed dimly as envious longing prickled at her again.

As she was rather raptly absorbed in the movie, she didn't notice, nor did she hear, nor did she even sense, the two figures enshrouded within the firm darkness, easily walking down the hall located behind her, making their way after entry, moving soundlessly like shadows, eyeing her with scrutiny as they went.

The only one to actually be aware of them was the young pink-haired's pet cat - a beautiful golden-eyed Burmese - curiously regarding the strangers that roamed through his mistress' home and letting out an inquiring mew, drawing the attention of the ones it was addressed to.

One of the figures then silently bent down to let a sole dark leather-gloved hand scratch gently behind the cat's ears, the little feline showing its appreciation by purring happily and rubbing itself against the person's black clad leg, whilst mewing again a little louder.

And, this time, it was loud enough for Sakura to hear and frown faintly, putting the television on mute as she called out softly: "Mittens **(1)**? What's wrong, honey?"

Being met with stagnated silence had never felt so unsettling to her as the cat didn't reply, which instantly set her on edge, for Mittens was a fairly loquacious cat, always answering present when called upon. And going quiet like that all of a sudden...

Whipping off her eyeglasses and throwing them on the coffee-table along with the ice-cream, the young woman got to her feet at once, sliding them in her furry white slippers, and rushed out to the hallway, peering around before clicking her tongue softly: "Mittens?"

Still no reply.

Her frown deepened as she padded mutely through the hall, heading in the direction she believed she had heard her pet cat mew, somewhere near the entrance door, when a series of shivers ran down her spine as an abrupt and rather glacial chill surrounded her, despite the heated temperature the house was kept under, given the winter season.

Wrapping her arms around her not so warmly dressed body - for she wore only a long-sleeved oversized beige jumper over a pair of knee-length dark grey stockings - Sakura's wide green eyes flitted over her shoulder towards the window at the other end of the hallway, only to see that it was wide open, allowing the draughtiness to freely make its way in.

Blinking in puzzlement, she hesitantly made her way over to the opposite side of the hall, and then, setting her hands on the windowpane, she peered out vigilantly, and yet was met with nothing but the darkness of the forest, the sounds of the night and the coldness of the air.

Shaking her head and drawing back inside, Sakura swiftly closed the window, turning the knob to lock it, before she thoughtfully tapped at one of the panes of glass with manicured silver-polished fingernails.

"I don't remember leaving this open" she uttered quietly to herself, frown still in place as she tilted her head contemplatively "Odd. Maybe the wind."

There was a rather pregnant pause in her every movement when she took note that, no, there was no wind in the dark cold night air outside. Not even the whisper of a breeze.

And it couldn't have been Mittens either, unless he somehow recently found a way to unlock the knob to a window.

She jumped out of her skin when the lights abruptly went out, leaving her almost completely in the dark if weren't for the moonlight beaming its way in, lightening up the now mostly black hallway of the lightless house.

The young pink-haired woman remained still and silent whilst her heart, due to the sudden startle, thumped so wildly within her ribcage, resounding out so loudly that it was the only thing she could hear, whereas her mind was racing with a thousand thoughts.

Once again, it couldn't have been the wind as it was nought. And the little village further downwards had its own source of endless electricity, so shortages were rare, nigh improbable.

Trembling where she stood, Sakura's breath hitched sharply with fear, a sole shiver ran down her spine as she suddenly felt a strong ominous foreboding gripping at her core, the kind of feeling that comes to one when they sense that they are no longer alone, that there is someone else, an unwanted presence beside theirs in their haven.

This, is _exactly_ what crossed her mind upon the realization of the situation she was in: Sakura Haruno, age twenty-four and single, wasn't by herself anymore for this very night. There was someone else somewhere in her house. And she had locked them in with her.

Immediately pivoting where she stood, she ran down the wooden floor of the hall, aiming for the cupboard under the staircase that led to the upper floor. Reaching it, she pried it open and rummaged as quickly, and as quietly, as she could through it, squinting at the utter darkness whilst blindly seeking what she was searching for.

One of her hands then brushed against the object she was looking for so she swiftly pulled it towards her, only by doing so, the tug sent something metallic clattering loudly to the ground.

Horrified, Sakura stayed completely still, carefully listening around to see if the din hadn't alerted the notice of whoever was trespassing, only to be met with no noise at all, just silence.

Standing up upon shaky legs, the young woman cautiously made her way to the bottom of the staircase and, after a moment of hesitation, she slowly raised her head, her wide eyes riveted up at the dark up ahead, with the newly acquired object held out before her, clutched tightly within her white-knuckled hands.

The quiet was awful, unnerving, nerve-jangling, but she tentatively, with false bravado, called out clearly: "Who's there? I have a baseball bat! And I'm _not_ afraid to use it!"

Sakura could have sworn she heard deep chuckling at her words, the sound echoing out as a pair, but as she looked round wildly and strained to listen, it was all eerily quiet again.

Swallowing hard as her searching eyes scanned around meticulously, anxiously, she spoke up again, this time with a faint tremor in her voice: "If there's no one _real_ out there, then know that I do _not_ have the emotional strength to deal with ghosts! So, GO _AWAY_!"

She was once again met with still silence, and she felt herself relax slightly. Maybe she was imagining things and just being excessively paranoid. Accumulated stress tended to do that, hence her break from work actually came at a perfect timing. So, the actual reality, apart from Mittens playing hide-and-seek, was that there was nothing wrong. Nothing wrong at all.

However, everything suddenly became horribly wrong the moment she completely let her guard down, her unyielding grip on the baseball bat slacking faintly, and it was more than enough for two sets of hands to take fully advantage of it, as they languidly emerged from the shadows behind her, sinisterly sprouting from each side, and soundlessly reaching out.

Sakura fearfully let out a shrill shriek that was swiftly stifled as she was grabbed all of a sudden from behind, a hand each firmly holding her wrists apart in the air, along with an arm wrapped strongly around her slender waist and the last hand clamping a piece of cloth firmly to her mouth. Whereas her makeshift weapon to fell to the floor, the young woman, panicked, desperately struggled to free herself from the unrelenting iron grip she was trapped in, kicking and twisting. It was in vain however. Her legs met only air and she just break free. Whomever it was that was holding her, were by far stronger than her.

Not only that, but there was an awfully unpleasant but powerful, suffocating smell weakening her, slowing her down, stinging her eyes, clouding her mind, the latter which barely managed to formulate the word ' _chloroform'_ for her before her consciousness began fading away.

A slow, steady warm breath then touched her ear, sending tremors through her sagging body, before she even heard the voice: "Ghosts are nowhere near as _worse_ as _us_. That's a _promise_."

To her however, it sounded more like a terrifying threat. And she hung upon that one thought as a firm world of darkness engulfed her and dragged her down and away into a deep slumber.

000000000000000000000000000000000000

Fair eyelashes fluttered faintly as awareness sluggishly crept its way within gem green eyes, before Sakura lazily took in her surroundings with her mind in slow motion, wondering how, when and where she had fallen asleep, her mind too fuzzy for her to recall anything as of yet.

As she sat up heavily and glanced around, she recognized that she was in her room, but there were two things that immediately struck her as odd.

The first was that it was abnormally dark: she couldn't handle sleeping in the dark ever since she was a kid, so she had a nice night lamp at her bedside that she ought to have switched on _before_ falling asleep. The other thing was that she was _still_ in her house clothes and that was something that didn't quite still well with her: no matter how exhausted she was, she would have changed into her night-clothes. What could have caused her to skip two of her most important habits?

It was then, that she all of a sudden became aware of the fact that there were total strangers right in her room, silently staring straight at her, causing her to go completely still with dread, as a recollection of what occurred prior to her having lost consciousness came to her.

Assessing them with wide scared eyes under the dim moonlight, she made out that they were two, quite similar in appearance and build, with one but a head shorter than the other. Their lustrous hair, just like their eyes, was dark black, clashing against pale skin, in addition to their clothes also being fully dyed in black **(2)**.

In fact, upon first glance, they looked no different than twins dressed but slightly different **(3)** , and yet, upon a closer look, one could tell that the taller one, with longer hair within a loose ponytail, was at least a few years older, shown by his mature features which contrasted with the other's boyish ones.

Though _everything_ about them, from head to toe, clearly screamed out the word 'dangerous'.

As she continued to scrutinize them unblinkingly, remaining as immobile as she could out of fear that a mere motion on her part would be her last, the eldest's lips leisurely curved up into a smile that Sakura could only qualify as smoothly lethal, the danger lurking within hazed by his handsome features. However, his eyes, _their_ eyes, two pairs of bottomless black orbs framed by thick dark eyeliner, held _something_ that unsettled her even further than just their presence alone.

The taller of the two tilted his head faintly to the side as his smile widened slightly, before he spoke up, his voice deep, smooth, derisive, scathing, but also chillingly void: "Sleep well?"

"Who...Who are you?" attempted the young woman slowly in a soft whisper, not trusting her voice to raise higher than that in case it shook and gave out. She was scared enough and they could tell, but she still wished to hide exactly to which extent she was truly afraid.

"That's of very little importance" brushed off the young long-haired man with a casual wave, before he purred with an unnerving grin to his features "What's _important_ , is that we _really_ like your house."

Here, Sakura's brain came to a screeching halt, and she wasn't quite sure if it was because of his words or because of the tone within his voice, before she cleared her throat and worded out tensely: "My... _house_?"

"That's right. But since we'll be moving in, it'll be _ours_ from then on" stated the eldest easily, using an eerily casual conversational tone, as if he were merely telling her of the weather "Do you understand, Haruno-san?"

She actually startled quite badly at that, her large green eyes going even wider: "How...? How do you know my name?"

"It's on your ID, duh" pointed out the youngest tersely with a flagrant roll of his eyes, and it _nearly_ made her glare at him: he was making it look like he was dealing with an exceedingly dumb person. She may be slow sometimes, but she was _not_ dumb and _not_ stupid, far from it.

The eldest noticed the subtle and swift shift in her expression and that made his eyes light up for some reason as he shared a furtive glance with the other male, who soundlessly mirrored his interest, before they both smoothly schooled their features and the tallest spoke up again: "And according to your CV, you're a pre-med student, right?"

There was now an abrupt indescribable glint within those two's obscure obsidian eyes, a mean one, a _dark_ one, which oddly appeared to coincide with her choice of career, and she couldn't help but shudder.

She took a while to reply as matter of fact, and when she did, her shaky voice was near silent: "Y...Yes."

The intruders maintained the suffocating silent staring for a while longer, before the younger of the two then feigned a soft expression, his wide smirk a dead giveaway to his insincerity: "Perhaps you can restore us to health then? We're very, very _sick_."

"O...Of course" stammered Sakura unsurely with a flustered frown, before slowly switching into medical mode before she realized it "What are you symptoms? Let me know so I can pinpoint your illness, and then administer the appropriate cure accordingly."

Silently, the two young men simultaneously arched an eyebrow each at her words, before they glanced at each other and grinned broadly, whilst regarding her out of the corner of their eyes, making her blink. It wasn't just in their looks, even their movements were _flawlessly_ synched.

"Pinpoint our illness?" repeated the youngest with a mocking sneer and raised eyebrows, his expression causing Sakura deep discomfort all over again.

"And administer the appropriate cure, huh?" finished the eldest cynically while the other male shook his head and chuckled, before the taller of the two made a show of reflecting on the matter at hand "Hm...I suppose we _should_ tell her. Don't you think so, Otouto?"

As his chuckles lessened, the younger of the two locked eyes with the other, and nodded once: "Yes, I believe so, Nii-sama."

Ah. So they were indeed related, two siblings, a big elder brother and a little younger brother.

"Alright then" conceded the elder brother with a lenient smile towards his sibling, before his expression darkened cruelly as he shifted his focus back towards the rigid young woman he was now slowly moving towards, speaking languidly as he went and pausing after every word "Listen very carefully, Haruno-san, since you were the one to ask. Our symptoms include: Insanity."

"Madness" carried on the other smoothly as he too gradually drew nearer to where she was shying away further up the bed, trying to maintain the distance they were attempting to close.

"Psychosis" declared the eldest as he swiftly took a firm, cruel hold of her ankle and managed to forcefully pull her back towards the edge of the bed, despite her struggles.

"Lunacy" uttered the youngest sibling while effortlessly blocking a stray yet well-aimed kick from Sakura directed towards his brother.

"Delirium" stated the taller one as he powerfully pinned the young woman's knees to the bed, utterly immune to her escalating distress.

"Hysteria" drawled out the youngest as he followed his brother's movements, quickly moving to get a vicious hold of her wrists, right as she began thrashing them defensively.

"Rage" worded the elder of the two as he bent over her form and tightened his grip upon her, drawing a small cry from her as she felt nails bite at her skin through his gloves and her tights.

"Malice" said the little brother as he locked eyes with his sibling, who merely smiled at him, before they both buried their faces within the crook of her neck, one on each side, whilst poor, petrified Sakura stared up wide-eyed at the ceiling, breathing and heartbeat erratic.

"Sadism" breathed out the tallest right against her ear, grinning manically as she shivered shakily, before he drew back a little and traced her jaw with his teeth, touching but not biting.

"Ruthlessness" smirked the younger brother as he nibbled at the young woman's earlobe, before he and his sibling abruptly pulled back, dragging her up with them into sitting positions, now framing her but no longer in contact with her, and yet, she dared not move.

"Depravity" added the eldest of the two sadistically as he slowly let his eyes roam over her suggestively, before speaking up again, smirking as she shuddered, visibly catching on "Also, we're..."

"Out of control and..." continued the younger brother impeccably, as if instinctively reading his relative's mind, whilst he drew faintly closer as if inspecting her with scrutiny, while she in turn merely remained stock-still, not even having the nerve to glance at him.

"... _Completely_ out of our minds" completed the other with an intimidating sneer, his features contorting faintly and giving him the appearance of a dangerous predator ready to pounce.

"So tell us, Haruno-san, do you _really_...?" began the short-haired sibling as he titled his head slightly, his dark unblinking eyes never leaving her unhealthily pale, frightened face.

"Have what it takes...?" went on the long-haired brother with a broad, condescending smirk.

"...To _cure_ us...?" they ended together, whilst raptly staring at her with conceit and contempt, a sole sceptical elegant eyebrow raised each.

Never had it been so hard for Sakura to breathe. She felt extremely close to hyperventilating, those two's words resonating stridently in her ears, all while smothering her, suffocating her. She could feel the abysmal 'symptoms' stifling her, permeating the air she drew in. She tasted their malevolent madness upon her lips and tongue, though they had yet to do anything to her.

She then abruptly realized what had bothered her within their darkened eyes: _sheer_ _dementia_.

And for the first time in her whole life, she was unreservedly, utterly, purely, deeply _terrified_.

As she shook horribly, the siblings seemed to take deep delight in her fear as they fully pulled back, standing unhurriedly, with wide ominous smirks to their features as they looked down at her with dark crazed eyes, whereas the eldest lazily raised his eyebrows, and worded in a chilling whisper: "Feel free to flee."

Sakura didn't need to be told twice. Flinging herself off the bed and hastily getting to her feet, she ran like never before, dashing away as fast as she could, like she was fleeing a fire, like she was avoiding the plague, like she was running from a hurricane, like she was escaping from the worst of dangers ever faced.

Only, the younger brother was hot on her heels, a broad, terrifyingly psychotic grin upon his expression as he chased after her.

She let out a shrill scream when he almost caught her, his hand clawing out to grasp her, meeting the wall instead in the guise of a powerful punch as she threw herself out of his reach, gauchely catching herself just in time right as she nearly stumbled into the stairwell, before then making her way downstairs hurriedly.

Descending them three by three as quickly as she could, Sakura didn't have time to glance behind her and, when she finally was at the end of the stairs, she abruptly let out a sharp cry as she felt something painfully piercing the flesh of her calf, the sudden impact sending her crashing to the floor in a graceless heap.

Out of breath as she forced herself up, she swiftly looked down at her leg and saw a medium, but rather sharp-looking dagger, embedded deep within her limb.

Green eyes widening, she stretched out a rickety hand to retrieve it, wincing at she pulled it out with shaking difficulty, before then getting to her feet again and sprinting off, just as her pursuer got to the last step of the stairs, sharp black eyes riveted onto her faintly limping form.

Agony running throughout her leg as she propelled herself forward, Sakura breathed hard as she directed herself towards the kitchen, clutching the dagger tightly in her hands, hoping to defend herself with it, if ever push came to shove.

Skidding to a halt at the back of the counter and crouching behind it, the young woman tried to keep quiet by biting her lip hard, while tightly closing her eyes and leaning her head against the kitchen's stand.

Why, oh, _why_ was this happening to her? How could this be happening at all? These sort of eerie events are supposed to occur majorly in thriller movies, right? And even if they were to happen in real life, there were plenty other people in the world to whom it could happen to, no? She wasn't _actually_ wishing this upon others, but _why_ did _she_ have to be included within those unlikely of odds? This just couldn't be real. It wasn't...

Her breathing stilled when the soft sound of impatient leather-clad fingers tapping abruptly reached her ears, as they galloped upon the marble surface of the counter. She hadn't heard anything at all until that one noise, given the trespassers were able to move about like ghosts.

The very realization that her pursuer was in fact standing right on the other side of the kitchen stand shielding her from him, sent a chill right down to her core. All it would take, would be for him to peer over the surface, and he would find her.

Her fingers tightened around the dagger without her realizing it, as sudden grit temporarily over clouded her fear. She had to fight, to protect herself. She was weaker, true, but with the element of surprise, maybe, just maybe...

Taking in a profound, soundless inspiration, the young woman flung herself into a standing position, dagger armed and ready to strike as she stood facing the other side of the counter.

Only, there was no one there.

Wide eyes scouted their surroundings carefully, meticulously, as anxiety and bewilderment had her heart thumping and her mind racing at an alarming rate.

Sakura hadn't imagined that noise, and she could have sworn that she did feel someone's presence mere moments ago, so where...?

She screamed when, all of a sudden, a cold leather-gloved hand seized the back of her neck and slammed her hard against the surface of the counter, the violent impact cutting off her breath and causing the dagger to slip right out of her hand, before it clattered noisily to the ground.

Sakura let out a distressed whimper when the other laid down his whole weight upon her, pinning her firmly to the kitchen stand and leaving no room for her to break free. She once again took note that her opponent was far superior in strength than her, so struggling was in vain. It wasn't that she was giving up, no. After fervidly attempting to wriggle free, she could tell that she was going absolutely nowhere.

A steady, warm breath touched her ear, the chillingly, dark voice that followed sending goose bumps all over her skin: "You wanted to use my own dagger against me? How _dare_ you."

Sakura, petrified, didn't answer. What could she have said? Besides the fact that her aggressor was making it sound like _she_ was the one at fault here. Though she didn't word, dreading what it would unleash.

The hand upon her neck shifted upwards to her long pink hair and, grabbing it in a firm grip, tilted her head fully to a side, until one of her cheeks rested upon the cool marble surface of the kitchen counter, and the other was left exposed to something rather hefty and serrated.

Utterly horrified, the young woman choked on her breath as she recognized that the younger intruder was holding one of her kitchen's own knives directly to her face, while he smirked dementedly at her: "How about I used one of your own knives against you, hm? Carve that pretty skin of yours? What do you think, Haruno-san?"

Terror turning all thought incoherent, apart from the one fact that she _had to_ save herself _now_ , Sakura acted on sheer impulse, kicking out blindly as hard as she could, and, luckily enough, landing her hit straight upon the other's shin.

As soon as she heard him hiss out in pain and felt his hold on her relinquish faintly, she took it as her cue to promptly send her head reeling backwards, knocking it against his with a loud resounding crack, leading him to crash to the ground with a thud, groaning.

Stars of all sizes permeated her vision as agony swam around from within her skull, but she forcefully shook it away as she staggered out of the kitchen, one thing on her throbbing mind.

This was far beyond her. Sakura could somewhat defend herself, but not in any case win, that much was transparently clear. Therefore, she had only two options now: either to get out and run, or to hide somewhere and call for help. Meaning that she needed to get her keys and reach the door before the other caught her, or to get to a phone.

Right now, she had no idea where her mobile phone was and as for the telephone, with the electricity gone, it was utterly useless to her, thus leaving her with the other option.

Leaning against the corridor wall for support, the young woman painfully made her way to the front door, putting as much speed as she could allow herself to in her step. As she finally managed to reach it, she set her unsteady hand upon the handle to open it, only to blink in utter confusion when the door remained closed. It was locked? But, why...?

Oh, right. Given that she was still somewhat dazed, it had slipped her mind that she had to unlock it first. And in order to do that, she needed the keys.

Sakura stared numbly at the unoccupied lock, before her eyes flitted searchingly to the floor, panic slowly arising again. Where _were_ the keys?

"Looking for this?" called out a deep, smooth voice scathingly, causing her to swirl around faster than she should have, her vision blurring again.

Shaking herself back to focus, the young woman peered through the darkness of the hallway, making out the outline of someone gradually walking towards her, whilst twirling something shiny around his finger, each spin making a jingling sound.

As he drew closer and became visible, Sakura felt her insides grow frighteningly cold. She had forgotten all about him. The older brother. And he was holding her keys.

She was very close to hyperventilating again, for she was officially a trapped mouse within her own her home as her golden cage, with two wolves blocking her only two exits from the corridor: the older brother was standing at the bottom of the staircase, and the younger one was surely still in the kitchen. Any room beyond that, obligatorily led to pass by the siblings.

The young woman, back to the door, shrank where she stood as the other carried on walking towards her, a derisive smirk to his lips, a terrible glint within his relentless, black eyes, until he closed the distance, now standing right in front of her, towering over, surrounding her, engulfing her in more darkness than the one of the night.

Devastated, she sank to the floor, head down, without realizing it, her legs giving in without her consent, yet no longer capable of supporting her upright, before she tentatively looked up at the other through her long pink bangs and, seeing that terrifying demented expression once more, she remained utterly rigid, far too afraid and exhausted to attempt anything anymore.

With excruciating slowness, he knelt next to her, holding out a gloved hand and using the back of it as to brush lightly against her cheek, chuckling when she tiredly but adamantly pulled away before any contact. He then touched her trembling jaw and trailed down her neck, her chest, her stomach, her thigh, before reaching her bleeding, injured calf and abruptly twisting his fingers sharply within the wound his brother's dagger had left earlier, eliciting a deafening cry of agony from her.

Shivering with glee at the sound, he smirked and leaned his face forward into hers, right after cupping her jaw again, not leaving her time or room to pull away: "You lose, Haruno-san."

Cruel cat catching her tongue, Sakura lost all capacity to even inquire on what the other meant, but before she managed to gather her bearings to ask, the younger sibling came storming towards them, an ominous expression to his features as he sent a murderous glare in the young woman's direction, causing her to recoil and quickly lower her eyes.

The eldest of the two stood up and appraised his sibling, frowning faintly at the sight of the other and questioning softly with concern: "What happened to your face?"

Though her earlier head-butting had missed his nose, it had still viciously caught the arcade of his right eyebrow as well as his right temple, rendering them both rather bloodied.

Narrowed black eyes softened as he locked them with his brother's, before they hardened again as he stared down with contempt at the young woman now curled up on herself, and whispered tetchily: "She has a little fight in her, and I wasn't expecting it."

"Oh? Kitty has claws then?" commented the eldest with honest surprise, an eyebrow raised, before a sinister smile split across his darkened features "Good to know."

"Hmpf" snorted the other, wearing a similar smile "So long as they're not sharp _all_ the time."

Following those abstruse words, the younger brother suddenly lunged for Sakura and grabbed her violently by the hair again, making her scream both in pain and panic, before pulling her towards him, for momentum, and then mercilessly bashing her head first into the closest wall, _hard_ , a loud crack echoing throughout the hall in the wake of the deed.

The blow was so excruciating, so overwhelming that she didn't even scream. It was as if her brain had underwent a system overload and was unable to transmit the necessary data to the rest of her senses. She briefly wondered if she had just summarized the definition of 'possible, if not permanent, brain damage'.

In the very few moments that followed, the young woman remained fairly disconnected, but still quite conscious enough to overhear the other two talk.

"Oh dear. That simply won't do" cooed sarcastically the perpetrator of her current condition as he roughly tilted her limp head backwards as to admire his handiwork, the large bleeding gash upon the far corner of her forehead "This needs to be taken care of quickly. Right, Haruno-san? Come along now then. Let's get that nasty wound disinfected, shall we?

Forcing her to feet by the unremitting grip he had upon her long pink locks, the younger brother unhurriedly hoisted her along with him, taking his sweet time, letting her stumble and sway, trip and topple, as they eventually made their way to one of the house's bathrooms - the one at the far end of the corridor on the same floor - all while the eldest followed, smirking.

Once inside the bathroom, the younger sibling allowed Sakura to slump sluggishly against him, as he pushed away the stray strands from her ashen face, loose from her ponytail long gone, while the eldest of the two moved towards the washbasin, opening the tap and clogging the drain.

Once the overflowing skin was gushing with water, the two held onto her, callously dragged her over to the basin and then, as they both knotted a fist each tightly within her hair, dumped her face first into the water.

Trepidation escalating to its highest peak, Sakura struggled to free herself, entering a panicked frenzy as she fought, twisting and turning under their steadfast hold, while forcing herself to recall not to inhale.

Licking at the exposed nape of her neck sadistically as she writhed, the younger brother let out a sinister, scorning laugh, taking immense, if not sickening, pleasure in her predicament, before he looked at his sibling and tilted his head with raised eyebrows: "Sanitized enough?"

Smirking loftily in turn, the eldest sibling offered smoothly: "Let's have a look, shall we?"

Pulling her out of the water and tossing her uncaringly to the ground, they stood over her and watched raptly as she choked and coughed viciously, expelling the very little but lethal liquid that she had accidently gulped.

She gasped out as the lower part of her face, jaw and cheeks, was brutishly grasped by a leather-gloved hand, the latter swiftly forcing her head upwards to meet the eldest sibling's scrutinizing gaze, as he roughly turned her face side to side as if inspecting her.

Too drained to resist, she let the other mishandle her while the younger brother leaned in, checking her forehead now cleared of bleeding, before he raised an eyebrow and worded casually, mockingly: "Looks all cleaned up to me. Excellent work, comrade doctor."

As the eldest chuckled at his brother's joking tone, the young woman pleadingly let out in a near quiet raspy whisper, her teeth clattering in exhaustion and with fear: "P-Pl-Please... _Stop_."

"Oh, what's wrong, honey?" sneered the youngest sibling scathingly, his features distorted under the unfocused blur of her vision, her conscious gradually slipping as she felt that she was about to pass out any second now "Tired? _Already_? Fuckin' pathetic."

"Be nice, dear" chided tenderly the older brother with no real reprimand in his tone, while Sakura noiselessly let herself slide to the floor, no longer even a quarter-awake "Just look at her. We keep this up, and we won't even get to play our full deck. I'd rather be satiated, neh?"

"Same" accepted the younger brother, wearing the same dark smile as his sibling, a smile filled with demented, sinful, vile intentions "It's been awhile since we've had such an _exciting_ catch, so I guess you're right, Nii-sama."

Amused arrogance touched the tone of the eldest: "Aren't I always, Otouto?"

"Really not a single doubt there" chuckled the youngest in agreement, before he walked over and reached the not-so-awake girl in order to whisper ominously in her ear "Sweet dreams, Haruno-san. While you can still have them that is."

And the very last thing she heard before the nothingness utterly claimed her, was their joined, fully crazed laughter ringing darkly within her ears like an eerie elegy, dedicated just for her...

 **To be continued...**

 **(1)** My cat is called 'Mittens'. Don't judge me: I merely had no other ideas for the cat's name.

 **(2)** Can you see it: Itachi in Shiki's full outfit, as in **Shiki** from _Togainu No Chi_? Faints into a pathetic heap, along with a profuse nosebleed, after Itachi then rids himself of the Shiki-coat...

 **(3)** As for Sasuke, he's dressed in Mello's clothes ( **Mello** from _Death Note_ ), only without the fur coat thing. I mean, Sasuke _does_ have it too in this fic, but he is not wearing it in this scene.


	3. Chapter 2: Hell's Kitchen

**Dark Play (a Naruto Fanfiction) by Seth's Kiss:**

A/N: Hello again! ...After so long. I am so, so, so _deeply_ sorry that you had to wait this much. I really have a hard time believing that it's been more than a year. Time truly flies, doesn't it?

However, in all fairness, I did caution you before that I have _very_ little time to write. And given the fact that I'm dedicating a lot, albeit most, of this little time to my Bleach fic (which is a trilogy), I have but rare moments to write this one. But I _am_ writing it, not to fret...Much.

As an apology for your waiting and a compensation for your patience, I've decided to upload on a steadier pace for a while, with longer content for chapters, before going on _yet another_ _undetermined hiatus_ as I go back and work on my other fic. Please bear with me...

I also wanted to say that I was _truly_ thrilled by how the follows for this fic have spiked from **15** to over _**50**_ (factually _more_ than twofold in number), and all this, with merely the prologue and first chapter! Whoa. I truly had _no clue_ that this fic would attract so many of you guys. I am immensely flattered and honoured that you've been patiently waiting for so long, it makes me feel even worse for not updating until now. Immensely, really, truly SORRY!

Also, thank you - to **chillaxin101** , **Foreshadow of Darkness** , **Cherrybomb** , **nykiemoo** , **Tank** , **Kirishiki Sunako** , **Lynnai, Midnightdreams33** , **Natasha-Tenshi** , **Jourdana, shuran** and **Octohoney** and everyone else - so much for all your encouraging and very helpful reviews. Thank you so, SO much !

With that said, ladies, gents and everyone else, please do enjoy this update!

 **To Guest 1:** Hello and thank you for reviewing! Glad the warning was suitable, only I believe that you've misread it a little. The brothers' relationship is **present** but _not_ **predominant**. Well, it _is_ , but that's not where this fic is heading. Further chapters will explain what I mean... I hope you'll get to read this. Thanks again for taking your time to review. Truly appreciated.

 **To** **Cherrybomb:** Hello and thank you so much for your review! I am _so_ sorry that you had to wait this long. My daily life could be considered as hectic, but thanks for asking. Really. I have even less time to write than I used to, so I'm struggling. But believe when I say that I ADORE writing and I have no intention to stop...unless I die. Can't stop _that_ , unfortunately. I'm truly honoured that you're following this fic so far and I hope it'll meet your expectations. Dark is legit my jam. I'm still learning, but I _love_ it too much to let it go. Thank you again! Hope you'll enjoy the following updates to come! Bye!

Important Warnings: Dear fellow vegans and vegetarians, **beware**. That is all I have to say. Also, violence, faint horror (or not so faint if you are _really_ sensitive) and rough mishandling.

 **Note:** I've set up a poll on my profile, for a few short and quite manageable upcoming fics. Feel free to place a vote. Thank you :)

 **Chapter 2:** Hell's Kitchen:

Gem green eyes groggily, heavily opened to the dimmed light seeping through the curtains -which crept into surroundings Sakura could barely place - her head a throbbing, pounding pain.

After blinking several times to gather her bearings, squeezing her eyes every now and then to attempt and alleviate the stabbing ache, the young woman then gently heaved herself up, groaning softly, before she curled herself into a seated position, her breathing strained.

She felt totally disoriented, her mind so hazy, so sluggish that it took her awhile to realize that she was actually in _her room_ , sitting upon the softness of _her bed_.

...She was at home.

Sakura frowned, mystified. Why did realizing such a fact seem so surprising, yet _**so**_ relieving?

...Was she missing something?

She charily scanned the room, taking in every detail, whilst forcefully ignoring her head pain, but nothing appeared to be out of place - it was all neat and tidy as usual.

Nothing at all, apart from the reflection Sakura caught of herself in the large, round mirror - hanging on the wall, adjacent to her bed - where she had to blink a couple of times to spot the difference that had made her freeze up. The young woman then slowly, tentatively reached up and, effectively, her fingers found the fabric of the bandage wrapped around her forehead.

Her frown deepened, a surge of panic slowly rising within her. When did this injury happen? What had happened?!

...What _had_ happened?

And then memories of last night hectically came crashing over each other as she remembered.

...Oh God. Two _insane_ individuals had broken into her house...and had wickedly attacked her.

Cold ice gripped at her entire being, more excruciating than her head injury, and Sakura fully stilled, a shaky hand to her trembling lips whilst holding her breath, afraid to make a sound.

Her eyes, blown wide with pure panic, instantly and instinctively darted over to the closed door, as if expecting - and dreading to overlook - the sight of her attackers unexpectedly walking in on her. And it wasn't at all out of fear of being caught naked - which she wasn't, as she was still wearing what she had the day before.

As time ticked away with Sakura in a petrified state of silent inertia, nothing happened, yet her heart was hammering so loudly with trepidation that it was the only thing she could hear, as it resounded rather deafeningly in her ears, whilst her mind raced with a rush of questions.

Were they still here? Did they leave? Who were they anyway? Where did they come from? How did they get in? What did they want with her? Why were they even after her at all?

...Why _her_?

Realizing that, if the two of them were still indeed in her house, it would amount to no good for her to play sitting ducks. At all.

So, the young woman gingerly, shakily, got to her feet, as quietly as she could, but then just remained where she stood, totally unsure what to do.

If they were still here, should she find a way to run out of the house? She would, if she still had her keys.

Should she call the police, before finding a place to hide and wait to be saved? She would, if she still had her mobile phone with her.

Should she try and go up against those two trespassers with all her might? She would...if she could.

If last night's events were any hint, Sakura was both drastically outnumbered and outmatched.

So terribly frightened out of her mind that her thought process was muddled and unfounded in addition to the ache, she felt as though she had never been this insecure and indecisive in her entire life.

...No, wait. Such pressure _had_ happened to her once before, only one very horrible, _horrible_ time when-

Hastily pulling herself back up from her slow descent down that particular dark memory lane instigated by the rush of adrenalin pumping wildly in her veins, she forced herself to focus on her dramatic - and possibly life-threatening - issue at hand.

If they were still here, somewhere in the house, then there was only one thing for her to do. She had to get out. _Imperatively_.

...Even if she had to use a window.

With her safety as a now more pressing matter than her head pain, Sakura glanced over at the only window in the room, contemplating how to fashion her escape.

The good part for her was that, on this side of the house, the top floor wasn't too far high up. Plus, the vegetation present there could help either cushion her fall or serve as an improvised ladder...maybe...with a bit of luck...which hasn't quite been on her side lately.

On the bright side, if she had been stuck up in the attic however, then she'd be in _real_ trouble.

"It's going to be alright, Haruno Sakura," she whispered encouragingly to herself, already considering the bed sheets in order to craft a makeshift rope, just in case "You can do this."

Ignoring the very unhelpful thoughts of how she was neither an athlete nor an acrobat, she made her way to the window, cautiously checking over her shoulder at the door every now and then.

Drawing the curtains open, she found herself stilling, with first puzzlement, and then alarm weighing down upon her. ...No wonder the sunlight had been dimmer than usual.

Beyond the glass of the window were wooden panels, messily strewn across in a crisscross manner, blocking any attempt at entry. Or exit.

Horrified, her jaw dropped of its own accord.

How...? ... _When_? Did the events she believed to have happened last night even happen _last night_? Had she overslept? Maybe she was still asleep. ...Perhaps she was having a nightmare. A real one.

' _God, please, let me still be sane,'_ pleaded Sakura, as she carefully pried the window open, before reaching out to touch the wooden prison bars - to see if she wasn't losing her marbles...

First tapping at them tentatively with her fingernails, she then brushed her hands over every side of the panels, poking and pressing at them wherever she could, seeking an Achilles' heel.

They didn't budge, not even with a little more pressure added. They were firmly nailed in.

The wooden panels however did creak rather stridently, and she quickly pulled back, heart hammering fretfully all over again, wide green eyes immediately darting to the door.

...Had they heard? Were they coming?

Nothing but still silence greeted her, and Sakura was starting to resent this nail-biting tension messing with her senses, caused by two strangers...who she wasn't _even_ sure were still in her house.

Nevertheless, better safe than sorry, right?

Speaking of which, the young woman was all but safe at the moment. She was caged in. Literally.

If she had never suffered claustrophobia before, she was certainly going to. _Any_ minute now...

She quickly shut her eyes, warding off the negativity away and trying to grip onto her focus.

Maybe she was being a tad overdramatic. She had no proof at all that the _whole_ house had underwent the same alterations her room had.

Yes, _that's_ the spirit. A little positivity and stuff would do her some real good at the moment.

And yet, Sakura had no desire to find if she was right or wrong.

As she took a step back from the failed escape attempt, the young woman accidently wiped at her brow, forgetting and brushing right upon where her head wound was.

And that mean, unrelenting pain spiked tenfold, drawing a shaky gasp from her, her vision swimming, her entire being feeling faint as she almost dropped down to her knees.

Damn it. They hadn't gone easy on her, had they?

Panting hard, she waited a moment or two for it to lessen, before cautiously, but totteringly, hoisting herself up again, her briefly blurred vision having a funny effect on her surroundings.

Overtly cautious of her every move, of every sound made, Sakura staggered on her way to the door and - after she bypassed her bedroom's door, eternally grateful of the fact that her doors didn't make any creaking noises - she took a tentative step forwards, warily looking around.

After waiting for a couple of seconds, the young woman directed herself, on tiptoe, over to the staircase, instantly walking past the bathroom - of the floor she was on - knowing it'd be no help at all. The window was too small. She'd never fit...not that she was calling herself fat.

Also, with open doors and, thankfully no movement within them, the other two rooms on the floor - guest rooms - were no help either.

They both gave on the steeper side on the outside of this house. She'd break every - or just the majority - of her bones if she tried to flee by either of their windows.

Very mindful of her step, she carefully descended the stairs, one by one and as quietly as a mouse, before coming to a steady halt as she touched down on the very last step, vigilantly considering her next move.

Sakura strained to listen, hoping to catch something that would indicate some helpful hint for her to work with. Only, the entire house was dead silent, not a single noise in the air but her soft, contained breathing.

It was like there was no one else in here but her.

Hence, she found herself wondering if she had simply imagined everything.

Maybe she had.

But then her hands found their way back to her bandaged, aching forehead.

Alright. Maybe she hadn't. Unless she had, for some reason, done this to herself. ...Ludicrous.

So, _where_ were whoever those two were?

With foolish bravado, she slowly ventured off towards the kitchen, reaching it and peeking in carefully, before her already distressed heart plummeted to her stomach.

The windows inside had endured the exact same fate as the upper floor, leaving her with only the lounge now as her last resort.

If no one was there, then great. They had probably initially broken to steal, not expecting to find anyone in. If that was the case, then back to bed to sleep all that nasty, probably diffuse, stress off. She had nothing valuable _here_ , so she'd call the police after. Later. ...Whenever.

But, if they _were_ there - which made more sense with the state of her windows... _Then_ what?

With the possibility that they might be asleep, she'd probably have the time to quietly locate her keys or her mobile phone, in order to achieve at least one of her former ideas.

 _If_ they were asleep.

Oh, what the hell. The longer she waited, the higher the risks.

Mind made, Sakura was about to leave the kitchen when her gaze fell upon her cutlery - rows and rows of what was mostly consisted of nearly all her knives - every single one of them neatly laid out upon the kitchen counter, all of them polished and clean, waiting.

The young woman paused, frowning deep.

She _definitely_ didn't do that last night. Point in fact, she never did _that_.

All her cutlery was always tidily put away and kept in the drawers, never exposed...in such an intimidating manner.

Perhaps she should just go and grab one or two, just to be safe.

...To be safe.

More nasty, dark memories and images bordering on delirium and violence came creeping up within her painfully throbbing head, bringing up very specific moments of her younger days without permission.

Oh God. Why was she recalling _this_ now?

Lost in an uninvited and haunting haze, Sakura ended up staring a little longer than she should have, contemplating the smooth shine of the blades in the dim light, tempting her.

"...No," she whispered to herself, taking a wary step back, shaking hands clutched to her chest "I shouldn't."

' _But your life's in danger, Sakura,'_ a very small corner of her mind gently whispered to her in urgency, spurring her first impulse on.

"And?" countered the young woman back sharply - yet quietly - a deep, stressed frown to her slightly pale, appalled features "Does that mean we need more blood on our hands?"

The voice in her thoughts snorted, before it sneered scathingly, its tone now shrill, too loud: _'Who CARES?'_

Biting her lip hard as she dug her nails in the palms of her hands, Sakura hissed out: "...I do."

Rather reluctantly but forcefully, she tore her gaze away from the counter, loathing everything her current situation was doing to her, before she stilled completely, entirely, from head to toe, her widening green gaze caught in lethal black. Times two.

"And our dear, dear sleeping beauty awakens."

And just like that, her frightful nightmare from before had started all over again. Or it was carrying on from where it had left off. Sakura sincerely couldn't tell which.

She froze entirely, like a deer caught in headlights, staring wide-eyed at the two males ahead, standing out in the hallway and casually blocking her path, leaving her no choice but to stay stuck in the kitchen.

Sakura mechanically slipped a hand under her shirt to pinch at the tender skin of her tummy.

...Nope, no dream. She was wide awake, and there were _definitely_ two strangers in her house. Unfortunately for her.

And then, she remembered.

Sakura remembered them grabbing her, appearing out of nowhere and putting her to sleep, intimidating her, enclosing in on her, chasing and 'playing' a dangerous game of tag with her as a reluctant participant.

And then they had caught her, threatened her, brutalized her and almost drowned her, before the young woman, afraid, bruised and in pain, could only pass out again, in sheer exhaustion.

...So, they _were_ real.

Good news, she wasn't completely crazy. Bad news, THEY WERE _**REAL**_.

Unlike last night, the brothers looked much clearer to Sakura, no lurking darkness to shadow their faces. And yet, her surroundings remained dimmed enough to not make out their every single feature. And certainly not enough to make them seem any less menacing, with their pale skin, their dark hair and their dark, dark bottomless eyes.

Sakura shivered, very afraid. She had to wonder if they weren't actual vampires out for blood, for the kill.

...How she wished her messed-up mind hadn't brought up that one particular thought.

With every inch of her being on high alert, the young woman, mute and stock still where she stood shaking, cautiously considered her options.

Once again, Sakura found herself drawn to the protection the kitchen knives could offer her. And ideally, while they were in the hall but a few feet from her, she was right in the kitchen's doorway, so she was closer. Question was, would she make it _before_ they caught her?

...She wasn't too sure. If they picked up on her intentions the moment she moved - or maybe even before that - she'll lose her chance. They did prove themselves faster than her after all.

So, how to outrun them? Or rather, how to outsmart them?

Perhaps getting them to talk would distract them, buy her some time. Men _could_ be quite vain now and then, or so she heard.

"How long have I- have I been out?" she asked tentatively in an inaudible whisper, loosening her stance to allow fluidity but remaining on her guard.

"Awhile," the eldest replied curtly but didn't elaborate further, cutting the conversation short.

Well, that sure was helpful.

As they stood at a silent standstill, the youngest of the brothers lowered his eyes to Sakura's side, shifting his focus onto one of her clutched hands, faint surprise flickering briefly upon his features before he smirked, entertained: "Plan on using those anytime soon, Haruno-san?"

Confused, the young woman followed his gaze, before then gasping upon seeing that she was holding a pair of scissors. She could barely feel them, her fingers gone numb from holding on so tightly.

...When had she-? She couldn't _even_ recall reaching out for them in the first place, yet alone since when she had them. Had they hit her head _that_ hard for her to completely off track?

That aside, this changed everything. She was _already_ armed. ...But did she dare to try?

Last night haunted her like a bad nightmare, her helplessness replaying over and over, even when she had a baseball bat and then, after that, a dagger in her hands.

The odds of this situation weren't in her favour. They were two and she was alone. They were strong and she wasn't. They possibly even had experience fighting, but she had never taken a single martial arts' class, not even a self-defence one. They were most certainly capable of killing, and she...couldn't bring herself to see blood issued from violence, ever again.

' _Even with_ _ **your**_ _life at risk?'_ the voice in her mind hissed at her, its tone accusing, blistering.

But Sakura didn't answer, forcing herself to ignore it, to refute it, to push deep and far away, before a thought all of a sudden occurred to her.

Not her most brilliant one if she took a minute or two to think on it, but at that moment, she thought she had found the solution to her dilemma.

Perhaps, just maybe, violence wasn't the answer. Maybe a more...peaceful approach?

A little too agitated to realize that she wasn't being safe or prudent at all, Sakura slowly held out her hand to them, displaying the scissors upon her open palm, while forcing a small smile to her lips.

With wide disconcerted eyes, the two young men rigidly regarded her effort at keeping calm and compliant, the eldest seeming honestly incredulous and the youngest suspicious, before they glanced at each other, obviously puzzled but also, unbeknownst to Sakura, rather peeved.

Was she making fun of them? ...The audacity.

Letting out a startled cry, Sakura winced as she found herself brutally shoved into the nearest wall, the pair of scissors snatched out from her hand before it was up against her throat in the following instant, so tightly near her flesh that she had to strain her neck and look up to avoid the pointed end.

Ok. That was perhaps the stupidest, silliest move she could ever thought of. And here she was so certain that she had figured out _something_. Though now, she was not sure _what_ it had been.

Not daring to move - not that she could anyways, with both brothers working together to pin their strength up and upon her - her breath hitched loudly with intense fear, overtly aware of the cutting edge against her jugular: "A-Are you...going to kill me?"

They both regarded her with sadistic amusement, relishing in the restoration of her terror for them, before the eldest spoke up, with that deep, daunting baritone voice of his: "Depends."

Never have vague and monosyllabic responses _ever_ seemed so frightening and chilling before.

"M- _Meaning_?"

"Look at it this way. The less you bore us, the longer you'll live," informed the elder brother, whilst his brother had fun at idly drawing patterns upon Sakura's bared neck with the pair of scissors, the blade too close for comfort but not deep in to draw blood "Got it, Haruno-san?"

Trembling violently, the young woman felt like a tiny, utterly defenceless mouse, caught by two ruthlessly and sadistically excitable felines, who would rather play than eat their food.

...She _really_ needed to stop having such analogical thoughts. They were _not_ helping her at all.

"We didn't hear you, Haruno-san."

"Y-Yes."

"Yes, _sirs_ ," corrected the younger brother with a derisive smirk while the other one chuckled.

Sakura shut her eyes and swallowed nervously: "Yes, s-sirs."

"Good girl," praised the eldest mockingly with dark humour to his tone, as he and his brother lazily pulled off and away from Sakura, allowing her movement again, yet she remained totally still and tense, terribly apprehensive of their next move.

' _What will they do to me now?'_ wondered the young woman in terrified alarm, so afraid she felt as though her racing heart was bound to burst right of her chest any minute now.

As if replying to her unvoiced query, the elder brother spoke up again, tone smooth and firm: "Now, my Otouto and I are hungry. Cook for us, would you, Haruno-san."

Sakura could only stare at them, with wide unblinking green eyes, unsure if she'd heard right.

When she didn't move, speak or even react, the younger sibling arched an eyebrow at her, his voice sharp and harshly condescending: "Are you _deaf_ , girl? Did you not hear my brother?"

Lips thinning, Sakura threw a rather nasty glare at the brother that had just addressed her.

For some reason, despite both of them progressively instilling in her an unconditional fear for them, the younger one, in particular, also deeply infuriated her to no end.

And she had no way to explain why that was.

When the young male in question returned her glare with a scathing smirk, she narrowed her eyes at him hatefully, before snootily turning her head and uttering in a soft, seething whisper: "I _heard_ him."

"Then _what_ are you waiting for, Haruno-san?"

Eager to walk away from them and the danger they represented, she quickly, robotically made to walk into the kitchen sideways, back to the wall, utterly unwilling to face the consequences of what might follow for her leaving her back open to _them_.

"Haruno-san," called out the eldest of the two males, causing her to halt instantly in her step "Do you even _know_ what we want?"

Not daring to look at them in the eye - fearful of what she'd see - Sakura remained still, silent.

"Aren't you going to _ask_ us?" pushed the younger brother with an annoyed expression, eyeing the young woman with exasperation and disdain.

Was she so pathetic and dense that he and his brother literally had to put words in her mouth?

"What would you...like to eat?"

"Fancy anything in particular, Otouto?" questioned the elder brother, affectionately wrapping an arm around his brother's shoulders while the latter made a show of considering his answer.

"Hm," he hummed, before he grinned wide and leisurely licked his lips "Something meaty."

With those words uttered, the brothers both clearly caught sight of Sakura's face significantly turning a shade of pale green, looking somewhere between distraught and disgusted.

Intrigued, they regarded her intently, whereas the younger brother sneered darkly: "Problem?"

Still rather nauseated, she threw them a cautious look as she whispered shakily, wishing that she'd keep herself from stuttering in front of them: "I- I don't have any meat in the fridge."

The two gave her chilling smiles, with the eldest saying: "Don't fret. We've brought some."

...They _what_?

Before she could wrap her mind further around she had just been told, she was grabbed by the arm and dragged on into the kitchen by the younger brother, the other following close behind.

The three passed by the counter, and Sakura found herself, yet again, wanting to reach out for one of the knives, caught within a harsh battle between her morals and her instincts, her mind screaming for her to pick the latter.

At the table - in the corner by the now inescapable window - they all halted, with the siblings picking up an opaque box set there and opening it, revealing the chunks of fresh meat in there.

Gasping in revulsion and clenching her eyes closed, the young woman turned even greener, her hands hurriedly flying up to cover her nose, feeling like on the very verge of throwing up.

She quickly took as many steps back as she could, before sinking to the ground, her stomach churning violently, her breathing hard.

The two brothers blinked and glanced at each other, before they regarded her searchingly, their expressions somewhere between half-amused, half-titillated, as the youngest laughed out jeeringly: "Never seen meat before, Haruno-san?"

Her strained voice was so quiet the two males nearly missed her words: "I- I don't eat meat."

...Oh? Didn't she now? Interesting.

Two pair of dark, black eyes twinkled with an insidious gleam as the brothers stared intently at her in a curt moment of silence, before the eldest sibling ventured curiously: "Vegetarian?"

"Vegan," corrected Sakura, eyes still shut tight as she attempted to shake off her queasiness.

"Because you dread eating animal produces, or because you wanted to lose weight quicker?"

Irritation pricked and flaring, Sakura's eyes snapped open before she glared up in the younger sibling's direction: "I have a high metabolism. I don't gain weight."

Rather than be bothered or contrite, the male in question broke into a broad deriding grin, an eyebrow slowly raising, features depicting scorn and haughtiness: "Struck a nerve, haven't I?"

"That's not it, Otouto," said the other sibling with a smile, indulgently playing along with his younger brother's flippantly vicious mood "You should know better than to discuss age or weight with a woman. They're _very_ sensitive when it comes to such topics."

"Ah. I _totally_ forgot about that, Aniki," chuckled the younger of the two siblings, winking at his brother cheekily, before facing the young woman with faked ruefulness "My bad. _Really_."

Yeah, _right_. It didn't take a genius to tell that he didn't mean a word of that.

"So, Haruno-san? No meat, no eggs, and the like, hm?"

"I'm against _animal_ cruelty," voiced Sakura with an emphasis she didn't mean to stress out, her head up and throbbing painfully again, preventing her from thinking or talking straight.

As the youngest snorted cynically, the other brother studied her with cryptic, narrowed eyes, as if trying to figure something out, before he articulated with a smile: "How _humane_ of you."

The young woman's brow furrowed, faintly confused, picking up the shift in their demeanour but unable to comprehend its reason. _Why_ were they eyeing with complete and utter disbelief? Did they believe her actually capable of harming animals?

Her frown deepened. She didn't get it.

But, speaking of animals...

"Where-? Where did you get the...the meat?" she inquired quizzically, glancing warily in the direction of the table, glad that she was far enough to not smell or see the plastic box.

Had they gone to buy it from the village's butcher? When did they have the time to do tha-?

It was the eldest of the two males that loosely answered her: "From a four-legged mammal."

The young woman froze, a series of iced chills running down the length of her spine.

There they went again with their terrifyingly vague and unsettling replies. And once again, the way Sakura's stressed-out mind would respond and react to them was completely illogical.

"Where's M- Mittens?"

Scathing amusement instantly etched itself within the brothers' expressions, but rather than keep it to that like his elder sibling, the younger male broke out laughing, loud and hard: "Are you _stupid_ or what? Did you _really_ think that _this_ is the size of the kitten? _You_ , a would-be doctor? Poor thing. Do you intend to get your next degree in a Kinder Surprise or something? Fucking idiot. Unable to the difference between a baby cat and a mammal ten times its size."

As he lashed out loud his disparaging and debasing mockery upon her, Sakura was petrified.

Not because of how much the words stung with their inaccuracy. Not because of the way he had delivered them, with harshness and hostility, with derision and arrogance.

But because of his laughter. It was...that of a madman. A _real_ one, with the mind in complete devastation and havoc, all chaotic and dripping with insane levels pure and sheer dementia.

Telling her that they were mad was one thing. Seeing and living it was a whole different level.

And worse, she was downright terrified by the fact that, amidst her horror and fear, in a very, brief fleeting moment, she had, somehow, insanely, found him a bit attractive.

...Was she out of her mind?! Wait, redundant question. _How_ out of her mind was she?! Better.

As Sakura stared up at him with wide, frightened eyes all while inwardly admonishing herself harshly - like she was living two very different, disconnected moments - the younger brother, still grinning like mad, suddenly crouched down to her level.

Thrusting his face up right into hers - with their noses almost touching had she not sharply pulled back, his palpable and perceivable craziness way too close for comfort, afraid she'd catch it if he touched her, like a disease - he whispered patronizingly, head tilted to the side, eyes wide and crazed: "We're not _savage_. Just sick, Haruno-san. _Very_ sick, remember?"

He really needn't remind her. She hadn't forgotten them telling her, and had no way to forget. Not with what she was going through. _No one_ right in their mind would do anything of what they were doing. Not to her. Not to anyone.

These two madmen and their stifling, intimidating presence alone, were a constant reminder. And what she feared the most now - and probably just as much as the possibility of her death at their hands - was being dragged along unwillingly down their deep descent towards lunacy.

"It's _lamb_ ," said the younger brother, startling her badly when he spoke up again so suddenly "And kitty-cat is safe, unlike you. So, don't fret your little head over anything, but yourself."

Sakura let a soft yelp, flinching as he patted her head, the touch, though light, reviving the still present ache, whereas the two males merely chuckled cruelly at her suffering, as they shifted and smoothly began to move for the door.

"I suggest you hurry along now, Haruno-san," mentioned the older sibling, the deadly gleam in both his and his brother's eyes as predatory as the words being enunciated "We are pretty famished. And hungry men are never a good thing. So, something'd better be ready when we come back."

As they walked out and closed the door on her, regrettably, Sakura could only agree on that. Studies showed that human beings - men in particular - were crankier on an empty stomach.

So far, these two were already dangerous enough as they were, with their eerie, lethal calm, hence she _really_ had no desire whatsoever to find out how they were when irritable or, God forbid, angry. And they didn't at all seem the type to bluff or lie about their intentions either. Odd how, despite still having no clue whatsoever as to who they were or what they were after, the transparency of their threats, whether subtle or not, were simply too real to ignore...

Now confined alone in the kitchen, the young woman flitted about edgily like a trapped moth, racking her mind to come up with a way out, the one and only thing that mattered to her now, because like hell was she staying incarcerated up in here as their housewife and plaything.

Then again, if recent events declared anything at all, her ideas weren't the brightest there was.

She wasn't an idiot, far from it. She just...never dreamed to be caught in such a nerve-racking experience again. She thought that she was safe and sound, that it was all over and done with.

...Apparently not.

"Come on, Sakura," she murmured, moving around as quickly and soundlessly as she could, looking around frantically, hysterically " _Think_ , damn it."

Ironically, they'd actually left her with a truckload of what could be used as weapons in here, but she honestly didn't believe that they'd overlooked that. They were too smart, too sharp.

Were they that confident in themselves? Did she really seem _that_ weak? ... _Was_ she that weak?

Picking up one of the sharpest knives and holding onto the handle a little too tightly, she shot a wild glance over at the window, eyeing the wooden panels blocking any chance at escape.

Could she-? No. It wouldn't work. For two reasons. Time and noise. It'd take too long, and if she recalled correctly the panels creaked with the slightest pressure applied.

' _And there goes that idea,'_ she thought to herself, hurriedly tossing the knife back onto the counter before moving onwards, reaching around the many cabinets and cupboards.

Rummaging distractedly through one of them with growing desperation at her predicament, the young woman went still, her green eyes going rather wide as she stumbled on something, something that made her heart both flutter with hope but also, seconds later, drop with dread.

Rat poison.

Sakura didn't lie when she said that she was against animal cruelty. And, if she wasn't wrong, it was actually Neji that had brought it over once, that one time where she had been asked to stay overtime for a couple of days. As she didn't have time to go back home at all, she asked Neji and Lee to stay at her place for those few days, mostly to look after Mittens for her.

Lee was immediately up for it, but Hinata's cousin hadn't been too keen to be surrounded by wildlife, so he'd taken as many precautions as possible, one of them being this. He _hated_ rats.

Clenching her eyes closed, the young woman clutched the flask of poison in her hand as she sank to the floor, a dry sob escaping her, overwrought and exhausted, afraid, a mess.

...Did she dare _kill_ them?

For reasons that were her own, she'd decided to dedicate herself to save lives, not take them.

' _Why hesitate when they wouldn't?'_ indicated knowingly that voice in the corner of her mind.

Despite rejecting its existence as always, Sakura could only agree with it this time.

Neither of those two held back. They had a blade to her neck, twice, and nearly drowned her.

On top of that, they had specifically said it themselves. They'd keep her alive only as long as she was... _still_ _fun_ to play with.

And she didn't, _really_ didn't, want to know up till where their fun could actually go, nor what it entailed. She could end up terribly maimed. Or worse.

Just like in the past, Sakura had no choice. She'd never leave...if she didn't get rid of them...

But did she _really_ dare?

000000000000000000000000000000000000

The two terrible brothers returned exactly an hour later, right as she finished setting the table.

With her back to them, Sakura quite noticeably stiffened upon hearing them approach - after unlocking the kitchen door - before she then quietly went back to what she was doing, not saying a word or daring to spare them a glance.

The siblings gathered around her smoothly, stealth in their steps, peering down closely at the young woman's choice of silverware, before casting a hesitant eye at the dish she'd prepared.

"What the heck is _that_?"

She stilled, slowly turning to face them, catching the younger male staring down with intense disgust at the food from over her shoulder, as though he was seeing poison or trash. Or both...

And she felt immensely offended. It had taken her A LOT of effort to prepare a dish with an element - poor, poor lamb - that constantly made her want to hurl up all of the bile within her.

"Um, it's- It's lamb kofta meatballs, in curry sauce. I found the dish in a recipe book of mine I use only when my friends come over and- And _you_ don't care about that. I just- I just thought it was a good idea as a warming meal, given the cold weather and all, and-"

The two merely stared at her piercingly as she babbled away, anxious and afraid, and then, the pregnant silence that came after that - when she finally cut herself off, out of breath and out of nerve - was so thick and so tense that when it was broken, sound suddenly seemed too loud...

"Looks like crap," stated the younger sibling with a grimace, but then paused as he considered the exquisite waft coming from the dish, commenting " _But_ , it smells _really_ good."

Relief she didn't realize she'd longed for and badly needed rushed through the young woman and, in order to hide it, she hurriedly went to give the two a courteous bow: "Ah. Thank y-"

"I was complimenting the food, not you," cut off the youngest brother coldly, staring down at the young woman with condescension, as though she were a particularly insignificant insect.

Stilling halfway in her bow, she flushed at that, horribly embarrassed, before she shook it off.

Sakura had no reason to _be_ embarrassed. They were just making her terribly self-conscious. And scared. And stressed the hell out. She simply had to get a grip, and hold on a little longer.

It'd be over soon.

"O- Oh. Well, I- Hope you enjoy," she offered quietly, eyes meekly lowered, making to walk away as the brothers wordlessly, soundlessly shifted to take seats each, moving like ghosts, whereas Sakura bit her lip, contrite and guilt-ridden as she inwardly implored _'To anyone and anything holy out there listening, please, please forgive this desperate deed of mine.'_

"And _where_ do you think you're going, Haruno-san?"

Freezing entirely where she was, overpowered and overwhelmed by that deep, commanding voice, the young woman, ever so slowly, turned her wide and rigid gaze to the eldest brother, hoping that those piercing dark eyes of his weren't seeing right through her as she struggled to come up with a lie: "Uh, I- I thought that I could, um... I _really_ need to go to the bathroo-"

"Shut up and _sit_ ," commanded the younger brother inflexibly, before adding with a conceited smirk, as if stressing out that he plainly didn't believe it worth it calling her by name, and even less with an honorific, which sounded like a nasty slur when he voiced it "Haruno- _san_."

To say that Sakura was startled was an understatement, at total loss for what to do.

Not only she hadn't been expecting this turn of events, but this wasn't at all going according to plan, as she was _really_ hoping to be in another room...when they both choked on their food.

"As our host, it'd be politer if you accompanied us, Haruno-san," smiled the older sibling, smoothly amending his brother's words when she didn't move "So, again. Please, sit down."

Oh, sure. Like civility and good manners made her situation any less terrifying and unnerving.

Without much of a choice, the young woman, rigidly moving like a robot, forced herself to walk back over towards the table and take a chair, before sitting down slowly, stiffly.

Two pair of dark, lethal eyes leisurely regarded Sakura in critical detail without uttering a single word, their silence heightening her anxiety, before the brothers then briefly glanced at each other with shared complicity, and then the elder brother slowly pushed an already filled plate in the young woman's direction: "Take a bite, Haruno-san."

Feeling as though her heart skipped several beats before starting off again, even more jittery and panicked than before, Sakura felt her insides go all funny and cold.

...This. Was. Not. AT ALL going according to plan.

Unable to conceal her dismay, green eyes doubled in size as she let out a soft, strained voice: "Wha-? _What_?"

"Are you _really_ hard of hearing by any chance?" sighed the younger male tediously, before he nodded curtly towards the plate now in front of her "Eat."

"I'm _vegan_ ," she countered falteringly, paling a terrible ashen shade, all colour gone, drained.

The brothers each arched an eyebrow in perfect unison as the youngest spoke: "Your point?"

"I _don't_ eat anything related to animals. I've _just_ told you tha-"

"But you _will_ eat what you've cooked. Because, we won't until _you_ have."

Horror fiercely clutching at her insides like iced clawed hands, Sakura felt her mouth run dry. She was stuck, pinned and quickly running out of options. She had to think fast. Very fast.

"...I didn't _poison_ the food," the young woman declared vividly, crossing her arms huffily and putting on a highly offended face.

Instead, an unpleasantly dark grin graced the younger sibling's lips while the other brother chuckled sinisterly: "Well, we'll only know that, Haruno-san, _after_ you've taken the first bite. Go on now, don't loiter, dear. Or it'll grow cold."

She couldn't help it. Her face fell on its own accord.

Sakura was at a dead end. ...Literally.

If she downright up and refused, they wouldn't eat either, which was the least of her worries - nothing guaranteed her that they wouldn't do _worse_ to her for her failed attempt, because they'd undoubtedly pick up, if they hadn't already, that something was off.

But if she ate, she'd be poisoning - and probably, albeit certainly, even killing - herself too, because - God forgive her - she'd indeed given in to desperation and dumped rat poison in it.

...Maybe, if she ate just a little bit- No, no, no. No way. She wouldn't stand a chance. Rat poison, like all poison really, was radical. Deadly, just with one simple, little bite.

"B- But... There's _lamb_ in the dish," she said with a whimper, playing her final card, honest but also dully desperate to have them pity her, leave her be and start eating for _Heaven's sake_ "Oh God, my heart. Who'd have it in them to eat a poor, little baby _lamb_?"

At that, the younger brother grinned wide, wickedly showing off neat rows of pearly white teeth, and she could have _sworn_ , in the freak of the moment, that he had fangs: " _We_ would."

"Then _you_ do it!" she snapped as she banged a fist to the table, closely bordering on hysteria as the voice in her head screeched _'Just eat and DIE already!'_

"After _you_ , Haruno-san."

Sakura choked on her breath, thinking for a crazy couple of seconds that the reply had been for that troublesome voice, but of course it wasn't. Only she could hear it, unfortunately.

"You can't _force_ me to eat. I've stopped eating meat at the age of six. And I swore to myself to never eat it - or any other animal and anything else from them - ever again," she whispered, shoulders hunched up like a little child "So please, _please_ , don't make me break my promise."

"Ooo, _drama_ ," taunted the younger sibling derisively before he threw his head back, laughing.

"Not to worry. Just a bite is all we're asking, Haruno-san," purred the other brother, before he then offered with feigned consideration, eyes darkening with relish at the predicament they were putting her in "You can go throw it up later. It'll be as if it never happened. I _promise_."

Oh God. They weren't going to let this go.

Green eyes hurriedly flickered down at the plate in front of her as the young woman felt like screaming, biting her lip hard to keep it from happening.

Sakura hadn't felt aware of the danger she was in until this very moment. She was _totally_ and _entirely_ at their mercy.

Or lack of, rather.

Their deadly calm and cloying sadism was unnerving, dangerous. It confused the hell out of her and threw her off completely, leaving her utterly unsure of what they'll do or say next, and leaving her at loss as to what her response should be, given that she couldn't predict at all where her pending plight was leading.

And that terrified her to no end.

Unknown. Unforeseen. Unexpected. Unprepared. Sakura really, _REALLY_ hated those words...

Should she...just eat it and get this over with? Maybe it was better than being toyed around by these two, who had quite clearly disclosed that they'll kill her in the end anyways. ...When they were bored of her. ...Whenever that would be.

What would they do her until that moment came? Would she manage to hold on until then? ...Did she _want_ to?

Of course not. She was already breaking down under the current pressure, head still aching, fear eating her up, adrenalin gushing throughout her being...

However, she didn't want to die either, not like this...

So, going up against what she'd normally do once again, the young woman made her mind...

With a shaky hand, Sakura slowly, shakily reached out for her spoon under their intent hawk-like gazes, but rather than taking a hold of it, she abruptly snatched her plate up, taking aim and throwing it straight in the direction of the young sibling's face, before breaking into a run.

Not stopping for a second and not once looking back, the young woman frantically dashed off for the door as fast as she could, furnishing a fierce effort she had never needed to put in her legs, her hand already held out and aimed for the knob that was but a few sprints out of reach.

' _Come on, come ON!'_ she mentally screamed to herself, pushing her body onwards despite its protests, drowning out all and everything surrounding her, focusing only on the kitchen door.

She could do this. She'd reach the door and close it on them, locking them in and, _finally_ , ending this ghastly, horrid game of theirs.

She was nearly, _almost_ there.

Just a little more...

A desperately relieved gasp escaped her as her fingers were now just a breadth from the door-

But her hand never reached its destination.

Sakura let out a piercing scream as weight brutally ran into her and knocked her to the floor, her fingers barely brushing the wood of the door as she was suddenly and helplessly dragged down to the ground along with her second failure for the day.

As the two brothers effortlessly got a harsh hold of her and slammed her down hard, she, in turn, writhed and fought, screeched and thrashed, blind despair fuelling her every gesture.

One of the two males let out a sharp hiss as she aimless threw out a hand, nails scraping skin, and, in retaliation to that, she found herself seized by the hair - she never regretted its length until now - and abruptly flung into the kitchen counter, the air brutally robbed from her lungs as she hit it.

Panting heavily, the young woman struggled to get up, to get away, but she was too slow, too tired, and it was all to the two malicious males' advantage. Grinning with sadistic elation, the younger brother - exempt from any sludge as he had easily dogged the thrown plate - swiftly lunged for Sakura, grabbing her like she weighed nothing, before hauling the young woman over to the table and throwing her upon it, stomach first, causing her to land with a choked cry - as the still present plates cracked under her weight, and then dug lightly into her abdomen.

As she trembled and shook, he smoothly leaned over her, his body flush and taut against hers, and whispered into her ear, as he unhooked his dagger from his belt and languidly placed it at her throat: "You should have used those scissors - or one of your knives - when you could. Because, between us, no matter how hot, a dish never quite _cuts_ it, Haruno-san."

He then twirled it nimbly in his hand for a moment, before, without a single word of warning, he jammed it straight down upon her, and Sakura let out a strident scream as she felt the sharp dagger suddenly stab her upper shoulder, digging deep into her flesh in one fluid motion.

Oh God, it _hurt_. It was painful, like being torn and burned at the same time with an iced blade.

As her attacker lazily pulled off and slightly away from her, she immediately tried to get up, but she couldn't budge, leading her to realize, with intense horror, that she was pinned straight to the table - the dagger, burrowed through her slowly numbing shoulder, had pierced a path all the way down to the wood she was currently laid upon - leaving her in a _very_ vulnerable position.

With her pounding heart caught in her throat, the young woman, tears pricking her eyes as she panted hard, went to make use of her free and still active arm to go and pull out the blade.

But, before Sakura could even _try_ doing that, the eldest of the two males had swiftly moved forward, grabbing her wrist and squeezing it in an unrelenting hold, easily foiling her attempt.

Smoothly crouching down until he was at eye-level with her, the older sibling, wearing an ominous smile to his lips, asked softly: "So tell us, Haruno-san, what _did_ you put in the dish?"

Like an overworked, overstrained computer program, Sakura felt herself crash and die inside.

...She was so screwed.

They had figured it out. ...Of course, they had.

They were flagrantly and unapologetically _insane_ , not idiots. And she had lost against them the very _moment_ they had ask her to taste the dish.

They knew, and now, they were-

' _Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God...No. NO. NO! They're going to kill me!'_

' _NO! Sakura, don't let us die! You don't want to die! Not like this!'_ shrieked that voice aloud all of a sudden, again popping up uninvited, unwanted, notably when Sakura was at her worst.

' _Be QUIET! You're_ _ **not**_ _helping! SHUT UP!'_ shesnapped sharply in response, raging at it and refusing for that _thing_ inhabiting her head to be last thing she'd hear, if she were to be killed...

"Haruno-san. I asked you a question," spoke up the elder sibling again, his tone stern and firm which led the young woman to instantly snap back to focus, right before she let out a startled and shocked shriek when she felt the sudden cool, cold blunt side of a metal blade touch her skin through her stockings, teasing a lazy path up her leg and inching upwards, with slowness.

Sakura shakily darted her wide, frightened eyes to the young dark-haired male in front of her. It wasn't him. It had to be the other brother, having his fun again with another dagger or knife.

As the blade to her leg, so dangerously close to her skin, gradually carried on ascending, she hurriedly forced herself to recite the dish's ingredients: "The- The lamb, onions, t-tomatoes, lemon zest and juice, garlic, mint, coconut milk, c-curry, ginger, cinnamon, coriander-"

"My, my. So many spices," chuckled the older brother with a tilt of his head, his shrewd, deep dark eyes regarding her like that of a panther "Trying to mask something, hm, Haruno-san?"

Terrified and in pain, all she wanted to say that she merely followed the recipe as it was, but, once again, her thoughts had a mind of their own, leading her to mention dryly, heatedly: "Yeah, the stench of meat."

"Cute. Last time, Haruno-san. _What_. Did you _put_...In the dish?" drawled out the oldest of the two males, emphasizing his every word with a dagger of his own, which he languidly pulled out from his own belt before placing the sharp, pointed edge right at the corner of Sakura's mouth, at the very side of her parted, trembling lips.

...Too close. The blade- Both blades were too close. Too close to her skin. ...Just a kiss away- And a whole other fear spiked within her, one that took all her restraint to ignore and hastily shove in a corner.

She _genuinely_ couldn't deal with _**that**_ right now.

Dearly attempting to focus on the present and not let the past claim her, she stammered in a strained whisper: "I- I- I j- _just_ t- told y-"

" _Other,_ than what is naturally edible, of course, Haruno-san."

Oh dear God, no. This can't be happening. What could she say now? What should she s-? Oh.

She had this. She could still buy herself a few more, meagre seconds...by just playing dumb. And doing _only_ that, until they believed her. So, the young woman tentatively gave it a try: "I- I d-don't know...what you're t-t-talking about."

...Oh, wow. With all the stuttering and sniffling that came along with that sentence, Sakura didn't even convince _herself_ , so she wasn't in the least bit surprised when the other gave her a downright disbelieving look, not even bothering to hide it.

He carried on scrutinizing her intently for a moment or two, before he casually picked up a spoon nearby and reached out for the still steaming dish, a very dangerous smirk to his lips: "So, what you're saying is, right now, if I have you swallow _this_ , nothing'll happen to you? Let's test that, shall we?"

Sakura's skin invented an all new shade of pale at his words, wild panic gripping at her core: "N- St- _Stop_! _STOP_ , please, I-!"

The spoon and its toxic contents halted seconds from her lips, allowing her to speak, as her current oppressor inquired lightly: "Ho? Something to say, Haruno-san? Last words perhaps?"

Totally and utterly defeated, she gave up, gave up trying to drastically avoid the inevitable.

...This was it. She was done for anyways. And this, _long_ before her present realization.

Hence, she'd rather die with a completely clean conscious. At _least_ that.

"...I put rat poison in it," she finally let out, her voice quiet and choked up, yet they heard her.

Though vigilant and distrustful enough to expect the young woman to tamper with their food, neither of the two brothers would ever thought that she'd try something so...daring, so deadly.

With the initial shock passed, a pair of black eyes darkened menacingly, seething with anger, letting it blind him as he shifted to use his dagger: "You. Fucking. _Bitch_."

"Language, Otouto," chided the older brother lightly, causing the younger sibling to instantly halt his strike and look up inquiringly at the other, who was staring down at the young woman with dark, unforthcoming mirth "It's basic survival instincts on her part, so you can't really fully blame her, can you?"

As the younger male religiously considered his brother's words before he then eventually nodded, Sakura couldn't say a word, her head hung low as she sobbed, exhausted and afraid, aching all over and very fearful that, what was to come next, was going to be a lot worse.

She was right.

"Only," carried on the eldest of the two males with a broad and sinister smile "As acceptable as that was, it stays unforgivable, that you dared to endanger our lives, dear Haruno-san."

' _What of_ _ **mine**_ _which you constantly threaten?'_ she retorted mentally, too drained to voice it, though she couldn't help but shiver horridly at the tell-tale of a threat coming along.

"So, Haruno-san, I'm afraid a little bit of punishment is in order," promised the older brother ominously, as he placed a finger under her chin and gently tilted her head up "Be ready for it. You won't see it coming. And then, in time, you'll learn that we lord over you now. _Fully_."

She wasn't given much time to dwell on his words as she let out a pained cry when the dagger embedded in her shoulder her was brusquely pulled out, freeing her from the table, which the young woman immediately took advantage of to duck out of the way, her mind drawn to the blood seeping from the now open shoulder wound.

Too focused on applying pressure to her gushing injury, she missed entirely on the siblings' movements, only aware of them standing over her as the younger one drawled out derisively: "For all your valiant efforts, Haruno-san. Our compliments to the chef."

Sakura let a shrill scream when they promptly dumped the contents of the dish all over her before she could react, drenching her in the sloppy consistence of what was mostly meat and sauce meshed all together, whilst the two sadistically cruel siblings, smirking with scathing mockery and condescension, took a step back and slowly admired their handiwork.

Still hot but thankfully enough not at a scalding temperature, Sakura was _covered_ in its waste.

It was stuck in her hair, on her face and on her limbs, on her clothes and slowly seeping under it, with a nasty and unpleasant squelchy feel. Nausea threatened her again, but she was far too shocked to react to it.

Quivering like a leaf, the poor young woman, rendered still and speechless, was currently in and out reality as she stared, horrified, at the pasty, reddish-like food staining her shaky hand.

It totally resembled blood...Blood and guts. It looked like at that too much. Way too much.

 _Knives and blood, the stench of death and decay. Dark and damp, lifeless, and six feet under-_

' _Stop that,'_ whispered the voice from the corner of her min, using a stern but scarce, soft tone _'Stop that right this instant. You're twenty-four now, Sakura. That memory, that nightmare, was back then, long ago. And this, this moment is now. And now, the danger is very different.'_

And it really was. And if Sakura didn't do anything soon, it'd only get worse. ...For everyone.

One of the siblings suddenly broke into a chuckle: "...What a mess. Oh, well. Bath time then, Haruno-san."

But she barely heard that.

The young woman wasn't even aware of them as they hoisted her up to her wobbly, unsteady feet.

She didn't even grasp that they were having her leave the kitchen, guiding, if not dragging her along, and that she was following. Numbly.

All Sakura could think of, was that, in truth, she and the lamb's remains, coating her from head to toe, with the rest of it splattered over the once clean tiled floor, were exactly the same.

She too was a lamb. But, rather than being dead, she was still a breathing prey, to two wolves.

 **To be continued...**

A/N: As a vegetarian myself, I felt truly and utterly _**horrible**_ writing this scene. I preferred to make Sakura vegan (rather than vegetarian like me, because I actually became one due to a weight problem and nothing more) simply due to the fact that it seemed to suit her better in the way I've imagined her for this fic. That, and I personally am not too fond of influencing the main characters of any story I'm writing with my ideals and ideologies, out of fear of creating Mary Sues/Gary Stews, so I avoid it like the plague. ...I do hope that makes sense.

So, given that I've had over a year to think things over for this fic, I've got a few fresher ideas that are faintly different than the original ones thought up. I am taking the same path however, not to worry. Nothing from the summary or warnings have changed or anything. So, yeah...

As stated above, I'll try to set a deadline and follow it. And so the following chapter should be updated on **November 30** **th**. If I end up finishing before schedule, I promise - solemnly _**swear**_ \- to update earlier.

So until then, ladies, gents and everybody else, take care! Bye!

 **Next Chapter, Preview:**

 **Snippet 1:**

" _I'M_ _NOT_ _!" cried out Sakura, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably as she denied aloud his accusatory words with every fibre of her being "I'm going to become a doctor! A REAL one! A GOOD one! And save lives!"_

" _Save lives?" he echoed with a dark laugh, scathing derision alit, alive in his eyes and features "How can you hope to save others, if you can't even save_ _yourself, Haruno-san_ _?"_

 **Snippet 2:**

 _Green blown wide in panic, her breath hitched aloud, erratic and strained, for he had his favoured knife pressed up right against her inner thigh, with deadly intimacy._

 _She froze in fear. One single nick at the soft flesh there, and she'd bleed out._

 _Bleed to death..._


	4. Chapter 3: Cutting Edge

**Dark Play (a Naruto Fanfiction) by Seth's Kiss:**

A/N: Hello, ladies, gents and everyone else! As promised, here I am with an update...which I honestly thought I'd be late with. _Again_. But I'm NOT! I'm even _**way**_ _**earlier**_ than expected! ...Can I be proud of myself? Or is that too conceited of me? Either way, thank you, thank you _**so much**_ for all the support each and every one of you guys are giving me. It really means a lot. THANK YOU! And, without further ado, everyone, on with the chapter!

Important Warnings: Blood, water and madness...it almost looks like a song title or the like. Also, a _little_ bit of molestation, yet it still remains disconcerting. But the most disconcerting bit is Sakura narrating her past. It's full on **gore** and **horror** (I wrote that part on Halloween). So, please, do beware. It is _NOT_ recommended for the faint-hearted.

Note: The timeline for this fanfic happens over an entire month (30/31 days), but I will not narrate the _whole_ day with every chapter, just significant events that occur on each day or so...

 **Another Note:** I've set up a poll on my profile, for a few short upcoming fics I'll be writing. Feel free to place a vote. It'll be open until the last day of December, so please don't hesitate. Thank you :) And to all those who have already placed their votes, thank you SO much!

 **Chapter 3:** Cutting Edge

The first thing that gradually flooded within Sakura's hazy mind as she stirred slightly, was that she felt incredibly groggy, like she had spent her time sleeping recently. She also felt rather sore, the slightest of movements causing an ache throughout her every joint and every limb. But, with her disarrayed, extenuated senses, she couldn't even begin to fathom what it could all mean. It was probably best to simply fall back asleep. Now _that_ sounded good.

Only, as she began to convince herself to do so, a faint frown found its way upon her features, as a second realization gradually kicked in.

A good part of her body was soaking wet. Or rather, a good part of her body was _drenched_ in _water_.

Eyes flying wide open in absolute alarm, as events happening not too long ago jumpstarted her brain with a spark of fear, she hurriedly took in her surroundings with fright, green gaze darting around wildly, before coming to a sudden, screeching halt when awareness steadily took toll... The young woman was, point in fact, for some reason beyond her understanding, in her own bathroom - the one adjoined directly to her bedroom - with the light on, but dimmer than usual, like it had been tampered with.

What was truly distressing and very disturbing however, was that she was _in_ her bathtub, almost _lying_ in it, with all of her body - but her upper arms, neck and head - dipped under water, in a position that gave no room to movement, her wrists tightly roped together above her head - by those thin, black plastic DIY zippers - directly tied to the tub's water tap.

 _And_ , Sakura was clad in nothing but her pale blue undergarments. The young woman blinked hazily for a moment, before she reddened, completely mortified at the idea of being undressed - and apparently washed off, as she was no longer dirty with sludge - by someone _other_ than herself. ...She didn't want to think about else may or may not have happened while she was out, but she knew this. She _**had to**_ get herself free. _Immediately_.

After tugging vehemently at her bindings for a moment and doing so despite all the soreness, her breath then came out with an apprehensive strain to it, a strong tremble to her frame upon seeing that she was _not_ going anywhere anytime soon. The ropes to her wrists were set tight.

And, although her legs had been left unrestricted, she couldn't really see how they'd be of any use to her at the moment given her position, not to mention the injury, healing slow but still lodged within one of them - the one she was given on the very first night.

Also, she unfortunately wasn't some James Bond character to flexibly free her way out either.

Something else had her apprehension at its highest peak. The water was of an odd appearance. It wasn't quite transparent, but wasn't really opaque either. It looked somewhat misty, steamy.

At first glance, Sakura would have simply, and dismissively, blamed it on the temperature of the water, only the latter wasn't _that_ hot, more like lukewarm and quickly cooling.

So, she truly didn't know what to think of it, only that it made her uneasy...like any water did.

Restless and very distraught by her predicament, she leaned her head back, staring absently at the ceiling, wondering with slow growing terror what would become of her, whereas knowing that calling out for help would go unheard.

She had never regretted until this very moment, but the horrible truth of living alone in this quiet, rural area - and currently cut off all communication in addition to that - was that she had _no one_ to call for help. Her cries would only be calling up her tormentors to doom her further.

And now that her thoughts had inadvertently brought them up, the young woman racked her brain to work out the reasons _why_ those two brothers were doing this to her...only to realize that she knew _**nothing**_ about them, not even their names, to speculate anything to begin with.

The only thing she knew was, in all their uninvited intrusion and brutal, cruel mishandling of her, that she wasn't dead.

And then, a cold chill abruptly ran the long of her spine as that voice occupying a corner of her mind quietly added a word to that sentence: ' _Yet...'_

She jumped out of her skin when, all of a sudden, the handle of the bathroom's door lowered, making a loud, abrupt sound that earned Sakura's undivided attention, as a series of goose bumps ran trails all over her body, heart rate dramatically escalating with trepidation.

The door then, little by little, slid open, doing so with torturing slowness, before revealing the youngest of the two siblings, a malevolent, unnerving smile to his lips as he stood there, arms crossed and leaning comfortably, lazily against the doorway.

Smirk widening sinisterly, he leisurely took one measured step forwards, relishing when she instantly jumped and recoiled as best as she could in response, sucking in a sharp breath as she trembled and shook in apprehension all the while.

Chuckling scathingly, the young man then locked his dark and cold, feral eyes with her wide fearful green gaze, as he drawled out forebodingly: "Ready to play some more, Haruno-san?"

Sakura could only shudder in response, holding in a scream as she desperately refrained from showing her horror to the other any further - not when he enjoyed her fear and agony so damn much - her dreadfully frightening situation getting worse with every passing instant.

Caught captive within her own home, entirely overtook by strangers - seemingly psychotic ones at that - she had been bruised, battered and cut, and was constantly threatened by them... The young woman was sincerely starting to regret not listening to her dear friends - Naruto in particular - when they all had told her to either take self-defence classes or legally get herself a gun since she decided to live all alone in a remote and desolate area, the middle of nowhere.

Then again...She had never been a good listener, alas, despite it _always_ costing her afterwards.

The young woman was brought back to reality when her captor leisurely began taking slow, measured towards her, his features full of sinister and ill intent in spite of the smile to his lips.

With her ragged breath hitching badly within a throat clogged up due to panic, Sakura tensed, her anxiety as its highest. How she wish she could flee. Or better yet, just disappear into thin air, right here, right now, like the Little Mermaid did.

Only, for the latter, that happened due to a broken heart...which Sakura prayed to never have...

While he walked on forward with deadly grace to his step, the young male, his dark narrowed eyes screaming with lethalness, casually slipped a hand to the back of his belt, unhooking the dagger that sat there horizontally, before pulling it out by its handle, excruciatingly slow.

"I truly can't believe you had the _gall_ to try and poison us. If my brother had died because of _you_..." he seethed in a low, quiet tone, features filled with a savage wrath, and Sakura, letting out a shriek, quickly snapped her eyes closed as he brusquely raised up his armed hand, as if to strike.

...Oh God. Was he-? Was he going to _throw_ the dagger at her?! Where would it land? Would it cut deep? Wasn't she hurt _enough_?! But the hit she was so terribly anticipating never came.

"Regardless, that _was_ rather fun," drawled the young male with a grin, previous show of ire evaporated into thin air as he lowered his hand again, before he warned lightly, sheer amusement dancing in the dark of his eyes "So do be careful, Haruno-san, or we just might get addicted. An advice for your own good..."

With wide, unblinking eyes, Sakura merely stared at him in silence, scared out of her skin. The mood swings these two brothers had were _entirely_ and _utterly_ unpredictable. ...Unsettling.

Speaking of which, despite being reluctant to know, why _was_ the younger sibling by himself?

The younger woman stiffened. For some strange reason, being alone with _this_ one out of the two invaders didn't sit well with her, making her feel particularly unwell and uneasy. Unsafe.

The younger brother, seemed to be far more... _impulsive_ , compared to the other. And rashness - or recklessness - was a very, _very_ dangerous trait to be face-to-face with, especially when entirely defenceless against it...

"Where...is-?" she began, trailing off as her eyes, broad with dread, glanced at the open door.

"My brother? Went out," he replied, before he smirked tauntingly "Why? Miss him already?"

"N-No, that's not why I...asked..." she stammered, her voice now completely dying out as the other now stood towering right over her, the side of the bathtub the only thing in the way of too much proximity between them.

And even so, Sakura saw him to be too close for comfort, feeling excessively self-conscious of his presence - _and_ of her state of dress, or rather lack of, feeling somewhat grateful for the opaque state of the water. And her uneasiness was on point, because seconds later upon the first thought crossing her mind, the other sharply jabbed the blade forwards, aimed at her face.

Too shocked and taken aback to react or move in time, the young woman let a startled squeak as it narrowly - but intentionally - missed the side of her face, the deadly dagger now glinting ominously out of the corner of her eye - and close to merely seconds away from it.

Sakura stayed as still as a statue - her erratic breathing the only thing making her body move with shuddering quivers - for she had no wish to worsen whatever fate he had for her.

Observing her intently with that enigmatic and unsettlingly silent smirk of his, he then had the dulled side of the blade caress a slow path down her cheek as he spoke slowly: "I have to keep my earlier promise, Haruno-san. To carve you up. To make you bleed..."

Wha-?! _When_ had he-? Oh. Yes, he _had_ said that, hadn't he?

" _How about I used one of your own knives against you, hm? Carve that pretty skin of yours? What do you think, Haruno-san?"_

"Oh, no need to fear, dear," laughed the young dark-haired male as he witnessed her blanch, before he grinned widely, darkly "I'll put you back together nicely. _When_ I'm done with you."

The young woman's heart plummeted to her violently churning stomach and drowned there.

...Had they not - well, it had principally been _this_ one - already harmed her enough as it was?

Ever since the two trespassers had set foot in her home, she had been given a stab to the leg, another in the shoulder and she wore a gash to her forehead, without counting all the times they roughened her up and threw her around like a ragdoll. Yet...they wanted to do _more_?

As dramatic as it sounded, Sakura really hoped that a sudden heart attack would save her now.

Whereas she was lost in her thoughts but still eyeing the other warily, the dark-haired male stared right back at her in silence, typically entertained by how uncomfortable it made the young pink-haired woman feel, but too preoccupied to pay it any attention for now.

Despite initially dismissing her to be the average ' _pest'_ he and his older sibling were generally confronted to, the younger brother had to be honest and acknowledge - but not out loud - that, in barely forty-eight hours, this young woman had proved to be quite... _different_ from the rest.

While others would flee, this one tried - with an emphasis on _tried_ , for her attempts were truly pathetic - to fight back, so far _no one_ but her considering - and daring - to harm them head on.

While others would instantly beg for their lives, this one, though evidently afraid, would merely cower in silence, only beseeching them when her limits were attained, not right off the bat. And, on top of all that, her limits appeared to be quite enduring, both mental and physical.

In all honesty, though he had heard of it, he had never seen anyone heal as quickly as she did, so far the blood of her injuries, recent and former, clotting at an alarmingly accelerated rate, and without any infections. ...What an odd one he and his older brother have stumbled upon.

"Do you know why I use blades, Haruno-san?" he asked her in a light tone, saying so rather suddenly and completely out of the blue as he knelt "Why my brother and I _really_ like them?"

Very quiet and still, she didn't answer, not sure if she should, not sure if she wanted to _know_...

"They're quiet, not noisy like guns are. Guns make _a lot_ of noise and, if they hit the right spot, the only response will be silence," he elaborated easily as he brought his dagger back towards him and gazed admiringly, lovingly at the dimmed shine reflected off the blade "But if you use a knife, or any sharp weapon in all their discretion, they draw the _prettiest_ of sounds."

She cried out when he swiftly lashed out and sliced out at her skin without warning, leaving a faint paper cut-like diagonal trail along her once intact and healthy calf, drawing blood that slowly, steadily dyed the water, turning it a sickly pinkish-white colour.

"See? It's like music," he uttered softly, an eerily elated expression etched within his features, as she trembled in silence, straining to regulate both her uneven breathing and heart rate.

...It was _truly_ strange, how the brain worked in certain given situations compared to others.

At times, the young woman thought of him and his brother to be rather attractive. Other times, like now, she was downright terrorized by the look on their faces, distorted by their insanity...

Grimacing, she let out a faint whimper as the new searing and vivid sting had yet to subside, actually getting worse instead. It wasn't that the incision pained her, for he hadn't sliced her _that_ deeply for it to hurt this much. It was the water that was in contact with her.

By seeping directly along the now open wound, it let out a strong stinging sensation, burning her viciously, from the outside _and_ the inside of the injury.

"Hurts?" he questioned, with an air feigned gentleness and gullibility that made him look even scarier, before he chuckled scathingly, arching an eyebrow tauntingly "Can you guess _why_?"

Distressed and distraught over her complete and utter defencelessness, faint irritation piqued curtly and viciously at Sakura, for she was not _at all_ in the mood to deal with guessing games.

She wanted to scream at him and at same time, wanted to curl up on herself and cry. She was totally drained and nearly borderline hysterical, all in addition to the burning agony she felt.

So, _NO_. She had absolutely no bloody idea _**why**_ the water was stinging her injury so fiercely.

' _Screw him,_ ' hissed an angry voice in her head, one Sakura was pretty sure was actually hers.

"No idea at all?" he persisted, grinning wide as if he somehow knew _exactly_ what was on the young woman's mind from her expression "How about... _now_?"

Abruptly seizing her long hair in a vicious knot and forcing her to arch her neck backwards at a nasty angle, he dunk her head under the water just as she parted her lips to scream.

The young woman gagged, hastily trying to get herself back up and spit out the water which was already halfway down her throat as she choked, the taste of it assaulting her taste buds.

And then, with the struggle being in vain, Sakura inwardly froze, horrific realization dawning upon her. It tasted salty.

There was _**salt**_ in the water. _A freak load_ of it. No wonder it...

"Stings like a bitch, doesn't it?" smirked the young dark-haired male straight in her face as he then pulled her right back out, watching her with dark amusement as she coughed and gasped.

Struggling to catch her breath despite the submerging being quite brief, Sakura reassessed her situation, momentarily but radically detaching her inner world from her current apprehension and aching, separating herself completely from the moment, withdrawing deep into herself...

So, she was tied up and injured, practically naked and plunged up to her neck in salty water, with a rather psychotic, possibly murderous, individual who _literally_ had her life in his hands.

Dear God...Was she going to die here? In her own bathtub? ...She was, wasn't she?

Sakura could picture the news' headlines, days after her corpse was discovered by authorities: " _YOUNG WOMAN, IN HER MID-TWENTIES, FOUND BRUTALLY MURDERED IN HER BATHTUB._ "

The news wouldn't even bother with the courtesy of giving her the necessary privacy to say ' _in her home_ ' instead. Whatever hooked the undivided attention of the viewers, she supposed.

...How sad was that?

Hence, she really couldn't help but ask, the words flowing past her lips before she could even register them: "...Are you and your brother going to kill me?"

Not saying a word yet, he stared at her with a slowly raising eyebrow, regarding her intently.

There was not a single trace of fear in the young woman's features or voice, not a stutter to it.

Not just that, but there was also absolutely no hint of _any_ emotion whatsoever.

...Something had changed. Drastically. And he had completely missed _when_ it had happened.

It was as if she had suddenly shut down. Or cut herself off from her surroundings. Either way, she looked totally detached, lifeless.

The young man tilted his head with curiosity as he slowly let go of her hair, the damp pink locks slipping through his fingers before returning to Sakura's side, sticking to bare shoulders.

What a _truly_ odd one this woman was.

Regardless, he was having _**none**_ of...whatever this was. Toying around with an unresponsive prey was no fun at all. And if she thought that playing possum was going to benefit her in any way, well, she had better think again...

"We're not going to kill you, Haruno-san," he said simply, eyes shining as he smoothly stood before causally sliding into the bathtub, before his now wet leather-clad legs touched hers as he lazily lowered himself, straddling her whilst she tensed at the contact "Not yet anyways."

And, now, the whole aspect of dying _later_ seemed only worse...if affliction _had to_ come first.

"...If you're going to kill me in the end, why don't you just kill me _now_?"

"There's no fun in that," stated the other crudely, considering her closely as he neared his face to hers, before arching an eyebrow at her inquisitively "Unless _you_ want to die, Haruno-san?"

With her voice failing her, Sakura could only stare, her wide green eyes not once leaving the predator's dangerous dark gaze, despite feeling - the more and the longer she looked into the darkness of his eyes - as though she was being devoured by it. Little by little.

...He was really close. Too close. And it took her a lot of effort to remember that he'd uttered a question and even more effort than that to reply, eventually shaking her head slowly.

At that, contempt and scorn instilled themselves within his features as he smirked whereas he shifted again, moving away slightly: "I thought not. None of you ever do."

Sakura's brow crinkled faintly in confusion at his words, but did not dare inquire upon them...

She did however let her mind continue to have its detached moment.

"Would _you_...want to die?" she countered in a soft whisper, watching on steadily as he stilled.

With his face suddenly a blank mask, the young male slowly cast her a glance with narrowed eyes, his tone clipped and cold: "That's totally irrelevant, Haruno-san."

Though still in her lethargic, disconnected state, Sakura felt a hint of hope surge through her. It wasn't much, but the young woman had managed to get a reaction out of him.

...Good. She had to hurry and carry on talking then. Maybe she could reason him...She hoped.

"Is it though? Because you're speaking as if I should _want_ to die," she declared, emphasizing her point by boldly staring him dead in the eye, hoping he'd somehow catch a glimpse of her adamant desire to live "But if _you_ have no wish to die, what makes you think that _I_ wou-?"

Green blown wide in panic, the young woman immediately cut herself off, her breath hitched aloud, erratic and strained, for he had his favoured dagger pressed up right against her inner thigh, with deadly intimacy.

She froze in fear. One single nick at the soft flesh there, and she'd bleed out. Bleed to death...

His black eyes were wide, portraying ferocity and something else she couldn't quite pinpoint, while he stared at her, unsure why her attitude was starting to seriously annoy him. But it was.

" _Quiet_. You know _nothing_ ," he drawled out lowly, dangerously "So don't try. It doesn't mean because we're chatting away nice and all, that you forget _your place_ , woman."

True. This was probably the longest - and uncut - conversation she had had with one of them. Stranger still, it was with the one that terrified her the most.

"Now," warned the dark-haired male, smoothly using his free hand to run his gloved fingers across her trembling lips as to emphasis his next threat "Not. _Another_. Word."

And so he went, one hand leisurely touching her skin in light caresses, while the other hand, still faithfully armed with his dagger, randomly left sporadic incisions anywhere on her body when she least expected it - the salted water burning each cut - all whereas Sakura squirmed and shuddered in pain, embarrassment and fearful anticipation, her eyes closed shut.

How far was he going to take this? Would he-? She hoped and prayed to the seven heavens and hells that he - and his brother - wouldn't.

 _Anything_ but that. As adamant as she was to live, she'd rather much die if they did _that_ to her.

That being so, with dark, bottomless eyes riveted upon her features, he wasn't even casting a glance at her body, nor did his invasive fingers roam anywhere near her most intimate places.

The young male didn't even seem to be doing this out of curiosity or some sort of horny need.

Again, it was just to relish in her discomfort and distress.

Just how sadistic could they be? And how _far_ did that sadism go?

' _You're going to_ _ **let**_ _him do this to you? Where's your bravery, huh? Fight! DO something!'_

' _I can't even MOVE!'_ mentally yelled back Sakura as that voice in her head shouted at her.

' _You can move your_ _ **lips**_ _, can't you?!'_ it sneered at her, as if she was the biggest idiot alive.

"W-Wait-!"

She didn't get to say more however as the dark-haired male, very much irritated now, expertly jabbed his dagger straight into her mouth, wedging it right between her tongue and her upper teeth, not bringing her any injury - as he timed it perfectly to slip it in - but effectively halting all level of speech.

"Hey, deaf girl," he whispered impatiently, eyes narrowed darkly "What did I _just_ tell you?"

Sakura stilled, eyes wide. The dagger was too close to cutting her if she ever dared to speak, as it was rather deep in. She could easily taste the smooth, cold metal of the blade, as well as the taste of salt and the dim metallic taste of blood. Her own blood. And it made her nauseous. However, even so, once again, her need for survival was stronger than her will to die.

So, although highly apprehensive, she swallowed nervously and forced herself to speak on, despite her struggling to do: "J-Just wait...Y- You don't have to do this."

Staring at her, the young dark-haired male didn't say anything at first, heightening her nerves. But the fact was that his dark gaze caught sight of her tongue accidently brushing the blade as she attempted to get her words around it...and he was given a few nasty ideas. ...Maybe later, they'd give it a try, when his brother came back.

"No," he then said, as though agreeing with her, before his expression turned dark, demented "I _get_ to do this. I _want_ to do this, because I - we - _love_ doing this to pathetic people like you. The important thing to remember is, that the _more_ it hurts you, the _better_ it feels for us."

Seeing that she had lost what little chance she had of talking him out of this, Sakura fell silent, frightened yet resigned as she turned her head away from him, unable to look at him anymore.

The left side of his face, not touched by the faint light, was truly insidious and, dimmed as it was, it gave him an even more sinister air than ever.

...He scared her. Both brothers _really_ did. And she wasn't ashamed to admit that in the least.

Seeing that she had finally shut up, he carefully retrieved his dagger and went back to his fun.

The opaque appearance of the water had by now faded a little and, for the first time, the dark-haired male's gaze was drawn to her body, something catching his attention and leading him to stare at it intently, ceasing all movement.

Uncomfortable under his scrutiny, which she noticed out of the corner of her eye, Sakura tried to twist her body to the side - as to hide the flank of her stomach from his piercing gaze - but he swiftly caught her hip and pinned it down with ease, refusing to let her do as she pleased.

Giving in to his restraint, she crossed her fingers in silence, dearly hoping he was _**not**_ looking where she thought he was. But, unfortunately for her, that's _exactly_ where he was looking.

"I was wondering, Haruno-san, what happened to you?" asked the young male, dark curious eyes riveted on the rather long and horribly jagged line, a scar extending from underneath her belly button to her left hip.

Weathered by age, as it appeared to have inhabited her body for several years, it was much darker compared to her skin, and its broad size and roughened ridges betrayed the truth that it had once been a very deep, very ghastly and, most surely, a very painful injury, dreadfully lacking the appropriately timed and required care, resulting in its current appearance.

The young male couldn't help but touch the tip of his gloved fingers to it in morbid interest: "This, right here. What is it?"

The mild contact to it sent her entire body jolting in response, as if she had been electrified, and out of every bout of fear he and his brother had drawn from those pretty green eyes, none of them could ever match the sheer terror now within them, like she was two seconds away from the verge of a violent panic attack.

It was as though the two siblings somehow paled significantly in comparison to the mystery reason that stood was behind this arcane scar that blemished her otherwise neat, creamy skin.

And though irked by this, the young man was rather intrigued and very much determined on unravelling the deep - and hopefully, not disappointing - secret embedded within this cicatrix.

"Did _you_ do this to yourself?" he ventured as he slowly traced the uneven length of the once mutilated flesh, all while eyeing her fixatedly as she shuddered and shivered in silence "...No. You don't seem like the type. _Someone_ did this to you... And looks like it was rather deep. Shall we have a little fun and bring this secret back to life, hm?"

...Bringing _that_ scar back to life?! Those words were like the end of the young woman's entire existence, and she felt like outright hyperventilating as her heart nearly stopped beating.

She could _not_ relive that moment. It would be just like dying, but worse. She'd _lose her mind_.

"N-No, no! NO!" she screamed stridently, twisting and thrashing, frantic in putting distances between his looming blade and her haunting scar "Please, don't-! ... _NO_! _Please_...Not _there_."

Shaken and distrait, Sakura was expecting him not to heed to her plea, to ignore it and just do as he wanted...which he could very well do.

But he _did_ listen, halting his blade's trajectory midway and glancing up at her with curiosity in his eyes as he considered her silently, before he demanded: "Give me a reason not to then."

The young male's command sounded _almost_ childish, but it still echoed _loudly_ as blackmail...

Quivering horribly, the pink-haired woman blinked rapidly, very much distraught yet trying hard to remain here, in the present.

These past hours, Sakura had been repeatedly torn from reality and tossed back and forth into a heap of traumatic memories she'd been _desperately_ trying to repress, to forget, to rid herself of. And, in truth, her isolation _had_ a reason. Her choice for her future career had a reason. Her being so resolute on living had a reason. ...Her seeing a therapist every Sunday afternoon, for fourteen years now, also had a reason.

With even her best friends knowing only snippets of her background nightmares and torment, her past was really something she did _**not**_ like remembering, nor talking about...especially not with a stranger bound on tormenting her ceaselessly before, ultimately, ending her life.

Trying to come up with a good cover story, she glanced away uncomfortably, biting her lip: "I-"

"A _real_ reason, Haruno-san. No excuses, nor lies."

Damn it. He had seen through her yet again. ...Were he and his brother mind readers? _Maybe_.

With his face dangerously close to hers, just a breadth away, his dark eyes were like a hawk, gazing at her intently, ravenously, terrifyingly, as though waiting for one slip-up on her part that would allow him to dive in for the kill.

Sakura dared not move. Nor blink, afraid that would be an enough excuse to condemn herself.

"I- I don't want...t-to die," she eventually uttered slowly, her green eyes boring deep into his.

Though staying quiet, thin black eyebrows rose faintly as he regarded her carefully, curiously.

That was in no way a plea on her part. Merely a truth. She did not want to die...but, yet again, she was not _begging_ for her life.

Did that mean that, later on when the time would eventually come, she'd let them kill her and die quietly, acceptingly, not even _imploring_ them to let her live? ...He highly doubted that.

Seeing that he was nowhere near backing down from his inquiry whereas she was not at all looking forward to what he'd do to her if she kept on holding it in, she reluctantly relented, whilst also deciding to speak yet, very carefully, edit along the way.

"...Mom and Dad were doctors, with a relatively good reputation, who would do their best to nurse people back to health, even if it sometimes seemed impossible and no one else would do it," the young woman tentatively began, struggling to keep all her composure as she took an unwanted trip down memory lane, ambling down a path which was like eggshells "And my parents _would_ do it, no matter the person's race, age or social status. They were utterly and completely unbiased, and so they never refused a patient. Never...except once."

Having the impression that he could guess where this was going, the dark-haired male parted his lips about to make his assumption, but then, at the very last second, decided against it, and continued to listen.

"I... I was six, when- When it happened. When _he_ came knocking on the door, late one night. It was my father who opened the door. I wasn't asleep. It was my birthday the next day, and I was too excited to sleep. So, I was up in the corner at the top of the staircase. And I heard _everything_. The mons- The man, who I couldn't see at the time - it was too dark - said that he had come from far, having heard of my parents' reputation, and he wanted a certain surgery performed on him. He assured my father that it was harmless and that he needed it, even though, he wasn't sick, but the more the man talked, the edgier Dad got, insisting for the man to leave, before their talking turned into shouting."

With haunted, distant eyes, the young woman sounded like a scared little girl as she narrated, like she was actually six years old again.

And she was so deeply immersed in the depths of her past, that she didn't notice the elder brother manifesting at the bathroom door - back from who knows where - and now listening just as intently as his younger sibling, raptly taking in her every word, her every expression.

"I didn't understand at the time, but the procedure in itself was totally monstrous, inhuman. And that's why Dad refused, backed up by my mother, who had come forward to see what the commotion was about, worried that the shouting would wake me up - although I was already awake. But the man was mad, very, _very_ mad with my parents' refusal, and promised them that they wouldn't live to regret them denying him this opportunity. Mom, not at all liking the threat, shut the door in the man's face. And, with that, my parents thought that that was the last they'd ever see of him. It wasn't... After that, I had crept back to bed, but bothered by the monster's warning, I still couldn't sleep. And then I heard the noises. Glass crashing. Mom shouting. Furniture falling. Dad yelling. In pain. They were both in pain. I wanted to run to them, but I couldn't move. I was scared. It's when Mom screamed - Mom had never screamed like _that_ before - that I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. Till this day, I wish I hadn't."

"That man killed your parents," said the younger male, not too sympathetic to _her_ anguish but quite uneasy by this man and his drives "Just because they said _no_? Fuck. That's messed up."

...A villain criticizing another. But she didn't hear him, carrying on as if he had never spoken.

"It was still dark. I tripped and fell, in something wet. The lights then came on, and I was completely drenched in red. There was blood, too much blood. It was _everywhere_. On the tipped over sofa, on the cluttered floor, on the walls, on the TV screen, on the bookshelves. ...And it was also all over me. On my clothes, on my face, on my hands. I could even _breathe_ it, although I could barely do so, the shock too much for me to bear. And that was before I saw my parents."

The elder brother wordlessly raised an eyebrow, now able to comprehend why she had had such a negative reaction before to being covered in that dish reddish-coloured she had made. Being exposed to blood at the age of six...Now doubt at all there'd be lingers of trauma after. However he had only loosely caught the idea of where the _actual_ trauma plaguing her lied, because, though that night had been horrifying and heart-wrenching for her...that was not the only bit that had messed Sakura up.

"Dad _(a loud, hysterical sob)_... Dad, head hung low, had been pinned to the wall, crucified, his palms pierced by scalpels, his chest ripped open...everything that should have been inside missing. Gone. No heart, no lungs, no liver... Nothing, but an empty and ripped open ribcage, gushing with blood. There was nothing inside, because everything had been scattered on the floor. And I had tripped on Dad's intestines. And Mom - oh my God, _Mom_ \- was- She was headless, her head sliced off - which I found out later to have been thrown out the window - and her chest had been ripped open too, with the- with the man bent over her, carving out her organs one by one, doing to her what he had done to Dad. As I saw him doing that, I couldn't move. But I _did_ scream. ...I didn't think. I just...couldn't help it. And then, he...h-he-"

Sakura choked on her breath, wanting, needing to stop there, but she was already in too deep, and, strapped on tight within the hellish, horrific roller-coaster in her mind, she couldn't stop: "He _saw_ me...And so did I. Pale, very pale, almost white, dead, he looked like...like a snake, spoke like one too. With his eyes of cold, unfeeling gold, he saw me. And he smiled at me, a horrible, inhuman, serpentine smile, before he told me to watch him closely do what he did to my father. And then he- he- he ate Mom's face."

By now, both brothers were very much disturbed by what they were being told. And here they thought _they_ were crazy. They had both done a fair share dark and despicable things, and have also encountered a good number of dark and despicable people in their lives. But _never_ have they ever harmed a child nor committed a crime in front of one. There were limits to insanity. If this individual was even _human_ to begin with. It sounded as if she was talking of a _**beast**_...

"I hadn't seen that on my Dad - not with his head lowered like it had been. But I saw him doing it to my Mom. His sharp, pointed teeth sank into her skin, into her flesh, before tearing it up, chewing it and swallowing. I didn't last longer than that scene. I passed out... When I woke up again, I found that he had took me with him, that he had kidnapped me. And I-"

' _And this is the part where you_ _ **STOP**_ _, Sakura,'_ cautioned the voice in her head, once again being gentle, although it was _truly_ a rare thing _'Go any deeper and you won't come back out.'_

Grateful that it spoke up when she felt like she was going to go under, Sakura sobered, cutting her story short, saving herself: "And then I had to wait four years to run free from him. I... I stabbed him when he- when he wasn't paying attention. I kept on stabbing him, over and over, until he no longer moved."

They watched her with intrigue as a dark glint briefly crossed her green eyes, turning them wild for a fleeting moment before it vanished, as if it had never even existed in the first place.

"I left right after that. I ran and ran, and ran, until I was, one day, found, healed, nursed back to health and taken care of, up until this very day..." trailed off the young woman, drained as she ended her story there, with the siblings left stunned silent and mulling over her dark past...

It was only then that the younger brother realized that she had _never_ answered his question. He had went and asked her about her _scar_ , not a single thing about what she'd just told them. However, despite noting that she had abruptly went and omitted a _large_ part of her story, he had the distinct impression that she had still managed to give him a reply to his query, at least in a manner she was _capable_ of. Hence, if she _had_ a scar, it was most unquestionably due to this terror of a man...who was very much disturbing, no doubt there. ...No wonder her fear of them was not _that_ intense. She most certainly assumed that she had seen and lived worse. But did her telling them all this mean the young woman wanted them to feel sorry for her? ...No. He didn't think so. She didn't seem like the kind of person to want others to _pity_ her...

"What was it like?" asked the younger brother, a totally, newly revealed aspect of this woman sparking his interest "Hurting him? Killing him? Tell me, Haruno-san. How did it _feel_ like?"

Because if he understood correctly, according to what she had just told them, she had _killed_. She was a killer. Just like them. And that thought thrilled him to no end.

This time, his voice seemed to draw her out of her dark, afflicting and disturbing memories and back in to reality, green eyes hesitantly meeting his, yet very clearly showing him that she did not like his interrogation. Because his inquiries meant that she had to remember things she _really_ didn't want to, to answer him. And she had done more than enough of exposing herself to them for today. Both figuratively and literally.

"He didn't die, as I found out later on, when I was older," she revealed, head sagging tiredly against one of her shoulders as she glanced at them wearily, witnessing their eyes widen at her next words "Besides, I had injured him to _run away_. I hadn't been aiming to _kill_."

Sakura mutely watched them both gawk at her, clearly bewildered by what she had just stated, the younger male, in particular, who just couldn't stop blinking, genuinely confused.

She _hadn't_ been _**aiming**_ _to_ _kill_ him? ...That made no sense. Hadn't this terror of a man killed her parents, kept her captive and quite possibly maimed and mistreated her? Besides, how on earth would a ten-year-old, with no medical practice, know _where_ to hit in order _not_ to kill?

A single glance over at his elder sibling and he could that tell the other was asking himself the same things too.

"And it felt horrible," she whispered on, eyes clutching closed but not at all helping to evade what she was unwillingly remembering " _Horrible_. It's not something I'd ever want to do ag-"

"You fuckin' little, _lying_ hypocrite," uttered the younger sibling venomously all of a sudden, with a sharp, curt laugh, dark eyes gleaming harshly, hostilely.

Holding her tongue, she found that she knew why he was saying that, what he was referring to, and what he was accusing her of. And his next words only confirmed she'd guessed right.

"If you hate killing so much, then _why_ did you try and poison Aniki and I, hm? That would have been _killing_ , wouldn't it?" he pointed out vividly, smirking when she remained silent, before he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him, whilst he allowed all his anger and resentment twist the knife deeper, wanting to hurt her vulnerable state even _further_ "You _enjoyed_ it, didn't you? Harming the man that took away those you loved, hoping he'd _die_ for what he did to them, to you. As for not doing it ever again, I think you're lying about that too. I think...that if you ever met that man again, this time, you'll make _sure_ he'll die. For good."

Once again, this guy brought the worst out of Sakura, who could only stare at him in horror. What was truly terrifying was that he was not incorrect. Point in fact, his words couldn't be more accurate. But he was describing a monster she dared not become, she could _not_ become.

Like hell she'd ever be like that vile, evil _beast_. She'd rather be anyone, _anyone_ at all but him.

"I'M NOT!" cried out Sakura, tears of frustration and distress finally streaming free down her face as she shook her head fiercely and denied aloud his accusatory words, a horrible truth she utterly rejected with every fibre of her being "I will be NO ONE's murderer! I _**refuse**_ to be a killer! I'm going to _become_ a doctor! A REAL one! A _GOOD_ one! Like my parents! And save lives, just like they did!"

" _Save lives_?" he echoed with a dark laugh, scathing derision alit, alive in his eyes and features as he openly mocked her inane hopes, his cruelty spiking even higher "How can you _possibly_ hope to save _others_ , if you can't even save _yourself_ , idiot girl? Killer or not, you _have_ blood on your hands, Haruno-san. Hands like that can't heal anyone. Ever."

Eyes doubling in size, the young woman paled and flinched back, like she had been slapped, once again letting the brothers witness a raw and delicious fear they had yet to induce in her...

Now _those_ words just uttered were simply far too cruel, cutting at her shaper and deeper than any blade that had ever pierced her skin.

Of all the things Sakura wished she could forget or overlook, these words were now at the very top of her list. But not because she'd heard them from this young man's lips first. Rather, because she had been told these before, by the very monster she hated and feared.

" _You can't keep me here forever! I. Will. LEAVE!" declared an eight-year-old Sakura, as she stomped her small foot, large green eyes bright with unshed tears "And I'll become a doctor, just like Mom and Dad!"_

" _You? A doctor?" drawled out the sibilant, serpentine voice of that beast, before he chuckled at her derisively "Don't make me laugh, child. Bloodied hands cannot heal, so do banish that thought from that pretty little head of yours."_

Watching her slip back into a half-catatonic state as the darkness of her past swallowed her up again, the younger sibling finally let the issue go, faintly bored. Besides, the water was getting a tad too cold. They couldn't exactly let their new plaything freeze to death, now could they?

Swiftly getting up after pulling the plug to empty the tub, he stepped out of it, before halting in his steps and glancing back at her with an arched eyebrow. He had felt her staring at him, but he couldn't read _what_ was in her eyes. Anger? Fear? Apprehension? Loathing? ... _Self_ -loathing? A mixture of all that and something else he was unable to pinpoint?

"You're such a precious fool, Haruno-san, I'd _almost_ feel sorry for you," he said, with that feigned nicety of his, before smirking scathingly as he walked off "That is, _if_ I cared enough."

He crossed his elder brother on his way out, the latter who in turn made his way in to dump a few towels on Sakura's damp body, before cutting her loose from her bonds and telling her to quickly dry herself off.

Back outside as they waited for her to finish, the older sibling silently leaned against the now closed and locked door, his mind running wild and hectic like a dust devil.

Clearly, he and his younger brother had underestimated this one. And clearly, she was _very_ different to what they were used to.

This woman had _already_ been a victim once, so she knew, she understood what pain was. And that changed a lot of things for the two siblings, who weren't sure if this new, unexpected happenstance was a good thing or not. Nevertheless, she was _very_ interesting...

Typically, their victims were individuals who knew nothing at all of _real_ suffering, and their fear and dread of it was simply exquisite and downright exhilarating, as they steadily broke down under the two siblings' measured and meticulous torture.

But how to break what was _already_ broken?

This specific woman, though still fragile, brittle, was in no way _frail_. She might have kept the majority of what had truly happened in her past to herself - four years _was_ a long time - but only someone blind wouldn't see that she had suffered a lot more than she was letting on. So, she _could_ take the hurt. At least, that's impression they were getting from this given angle.

Sakura Haruno was most likely a survivor. And survivors were _very_ dangerous, unpredictable. ...Just like they were.

Hence, the question remained. Were they capable of outdoing whatever had been done to her?

The two brothers then wordlessly glanced at each other, both as usual thinking along the same lines, before _**very**_ dark and ill intent crossed their features as they wickedly smirked in unison.

...Alright. Challenge accepted.

 **To be continued...**

A/N: I can be a _tad_ dramatic, I'll admit to that. MWAHAHAHAAAAAAA! ... _Clears throat_. Momentary madness aside, the following chapter should be updated on **December 31** **st**. Like I did for this chapter, if I end up finishing before schedule, I promise to update earlier. If I am capable of updating like this regularly and still be up-to-date with my other fics, I _may_ not go on that previously announced hiatus after all. Let's cross our fingers on that, shall we?

So until then, ladies, gents and everybody else, take care! Bye!

 **Next Chapter, Preview:**

" _Like what you're learning so far, Haruno-san?" inquired a voice suddenly from behind her, causing her to jump, startled, and drop the remote control._

 _As it fell down with a dull thud, she hurriedly swirled around to see the exact same faces the news had been showing her. Her wide, rattled eyes then darted between the television and the two broadly smirking siblings, horrified by the truth she immediately grasped - thankfully, she was not that dumb - but utterly unable to make herself utter it into words, mouth totally dry._

" _You... You- Y-You're-"_

" _Why yes, that would be us," chuckled the elder brother, sinisterly amused whilst he loosely wrapped an arm around his younger brother, who just grinned wider at the sight of her shock._

 _Sakura froze, unreservedly petrified out of her skin and mind._

 _Not only she now had a name to put to these two trespassers, but she also knew exactly what they were capable of. And just how horrendously worse her whole predicament had become..._


	5. Chapter 4: Knock, Knock

**Dark Play (a Naruto Fanfiction) by Seth's Kiss:**

A/N: Hello, ladies, gents and everyone else! Yes, yes, I know. I'm back to being late. _Again_. And I _**really**_ have no words for how sorry I am. Life hates me, nothing I can do to change that, unfortunately. Sometimes, I _wish_ I could just drop everything that was thrown at me and simply sit and project the story directly from my head onto the screen, save time and stuff. But, alas, I don't have that power, (would be _real_ neat though). All in all, 2018 was a _**very**_ difficult year for me. ...Good thing it's over. I'm hoping to have a better year this time around. 2019, _PLEASE_ , don't make things worse. ...Yeah. On with the chapter!

 **To Guest 1:** Hello and thank you so much for your review! SO sorry for being _this_ late! I hope I wasn't too long and that you'll enjoy this update! Bye!

Important Warnings: We're dimming _a tad_ on the horror for now. I need a break. And so does poor Sakura. So, in this chapter, just beware the rollercoaster of emotions and...The unexpected.

 **Note:** I've set up a poll on my profile, for a few short upcoming fics I'll be writing. Feel free to place a vote. It'll be open up until the _**last**_ day of **June** , so please don't hesitate. Thank you X3! And to all those who have already placed their votes, thank you so, SO much, everyone!

 **Chapter 4: Knock, Knock** _ **(1)**_

Everything was now incredibly different in the house Sakura couldn't call her own anymore. It was as if _she_ was the outsider here. Preposterous, but there was really no other way to put it...

Her bedroom no longer hers, the young woman had been 'given' one of the guest rooms instead. A lot less furnished guest room, most of its previous contents gone who-knows-where and left near bare, currently holding but a mattress in a corner, a pillow and a blanket. _Nothing_ else.

In this miserly, worrying situation for two full days now, Sakura sighed wearily as she leaned her head back against the wall, minding her tended to and gradually healing injuries as she shifted, all while feeling like a prisoner of war one would read about in historical novels.

But she then quickly banished that thought from her mind due _what_ most of them tended to endure at the hands of their jailors.

... _Rape_.

The young pink-haired woman had goosebumps, unable to flee the thought, direly dreading it, dreading that her own captors would go and take advantage of her in _that_ manner. She honestly couldn't imagine anything worse.

Well, actually, she _could_ , but it still remained something she was far from looking forward to...

But somehow, though she did not know by what miracle, she noticed that they didn't _seem_ to be sexually attracted or drawn to her. ...And she didn't know whether to feel relieved. Or vexed.

Given that she had brought them up, surprisingly, the 'terror' brothers - as she had opted to baptize them - were making themselves strangely scarce, coming by her makeshift prison only twice a day.

Once, in the waking hours to bring her breakfast and take her to the bathroom; and as dusk fell, where they'd bring her dinner - and take a second trip to the bathroom, if needed.

The food they brought wasn't bad or in any way repelling, but it was deliberately not substantial enough, like they wanted to keep her underfed, and weak. Weak against them. As if she wasn't at her greatest disadvantage already.

The young woman was radically losing weight. And losing grip...unless she had already lost it.

But the truth was that the pink-haired woman refused to acknowledge the notion 'of giving up'. Anyone else would have rather surrendered or died in the first few moments the two siblings unleashed their inexplicable, sadistic and vicious cruelty. ...Not Sakura.

Call it madness, but she was stubbornly and resolutely adamant upon living on, no matter how hard it got. Just to prove that vicious monster, her parents' cold-blooded murderer, dead wrong. She _refused_ to let that malevolent, evil beast control her life any more than he had already had.

Only, for the time being, the young woman couldn't quite see the light at the end of the tunnel.

As Sakura tried to come up with an alternative, then arose, suddenly and uninvited, the voice from within her mind she loathed so much, reproachfully chiding her in a series of whispers: _'You should have let me fight back, Sakura. I could have, you know? If you had_ _ **let**_ _me, idiot.'_

"Shut up," snapped the young pink-haired woman immediately, shaking her head firmly, not at all wanting to deal with that part of herself right now. Or ever, to be honest.

' _Let it be known, that next time your life's in danger, honey, I will_ _ **not**_ _wait for your blessing.'_

Sakura went stock still, as ice, cold horror clutched fiercely at her core due to the voice's words.

"I _forbid_ you to make us take another life!" she declared fervidly, near screaming in her alarm "Do you hear me?! I FORBID it!"

' _Even if it were to cost your_ _ **OWN**_ _life?'_ countered the voice harshly with brisk forcefulness _'Their intent is clear. Hence, it's either us or them. And we both know who I'd choose, Sakura.'_

This time, she did let out a choked scream, which she hastily smothered by burying her head directly in the fluffiness of her pillow, shaky hands fisting the bedspread tightly.

Quivering like a leaf and fear coating her being like a wet blanket, Sakura was a little girl again, engulfed deep in violent, _violent_ memories. Of an abysmal life no child should have to endure.

And the very crux of most of those dire straits she went through, other than the villain she hated, was the voice in her head.

The most vindictive, heinous and wild part of herself, vivid and vicious like wrath personified.

The young woman outright despised it, loathed it with passion. She never accepted its existence, despite it never _once_ harming her in person, quite the opposite.

It was the inhuman, ruthless harm it was capable of doing to _others_ that appalled her, terrified her. And the fact that Sakura was not always able to contain it, control it, stressed her to no end.

Worse. The meds she usually took to keep that part of herself at bay have been out of reach for nearly _four_ days now, and, as a result, the voice in her head had gotten too loud, too relentless.

If things carried on the way they were going, it would take over. It was making that _pretty_ clear.

"Please, don't," she pleaded, breathless as she desperately tried the reign that part of herself in, fiercely shoving it back to its place "Don't _ever_ make me do something like that again. _Please_."

' _Do you_ _ **like**_ _being a victim, hm? Plan on being one for the rest of your life? FIGHT, damn it!'_

The struggle for control was arduous, agonising. A jagged challenge, like that of a tug-of-war. "...I don't want any more blood on my hands. I _really_ don't. I gave it up. Ran away from it all."

' _You're_ _ **still**_ _running, after all this time. So, tell me, how long until your legs finally give out?'_

"Not long," whispered Sakura, drained, her half-lidded eyes looking around her without seeing.

As silence fell over her, the young woman, tense, awaited with consternation for the voice to speak up yet again, to scold her, to yell at her, to mock her, to sneer at her...Like it always did.

But it didn't.

It was quiet, calm. Silence. Not a noise, but that of a throbbing headache blossoming. ...Finally. It had been tormenting and harassing her nonstop, for _days_ now. Four whole days to be exact.

An unoccupied person could steadily sink into some form of madness. And Sakura wasn't that sane to begin with, so...

She slowly let out a breath of relief she didn't realize she had been holding, eyes closing tiredly.

Only, for them to immediately snap back open in fright as she heard the door gradually unlock.

The young woman instantly sat up, right as the door opened and revealed, for once since she'd been locked up, only one of her tormentors.

It was the older brother, derision and disdain in his cold, unfeeling expression, as he smiled falsely, sinisterly, and leaned against the doorframe, smoothly blocking any exit attempt.

"Talking to yourself, Haruno-san? Anything fun?" taunted the tall young man scathingly, an eyebrow arched up high as he regarded her searchingly with gleaming, black coals for eyes.

When the utterly silent young woman hurriedly shook her head, he let out a slow, jaded sigh, looking disappointed. Or bored. She couldn't quite tell.

"Shame. Here," he said, as he bent over slightly, setting down the plate he was holding, before he slid it towards her, his shove strong enough for it to cross the room over to where she was.

The dish bumped her ankle lightly, the impact causing its contents to slosh around with a sodden sound, nearly falling and staining her bare feet.

Not realizing how famished she was until now, Sakura carefully peered at the plate, only to feel her throat clog instantly. Though the smell was pretty alright, it didn't look appetizing _at all_. Far from it.

It was like the one who had made the dish had been lazy as hell, and as such just threw all of its contents into a blender, which in turn gave birth to a thick glop of an ugly colour, of unknown origins.

It basically looked like oatmeal, but WAY nastier, almost like someone had amassed throw-up.

Scrunching her nose in total disgust, she glanced away, wondering how she was going to eat it.

Although she had no idea _what_ was _in_ this dish, Sakura knew for sure that it was not poisoned. She had initially expected them to get back at her for what she had tried to do to them, but when the matter came up for the first time, they had both seemed slightly amused and direly offended.

' _We're not pussies, dear,'_ was what the younger one had retorted with a lethally, irritated smirk, riling her up with his words as he'd do each time.

It was actually a bit weird to not have him here, smirking and making his usual snarky remarks.

...Speaking of which.

"...Where's your brother?" inquired the young pink-haired woman, merely out of curiosity, as she had come to notice that it was a _very_ rare feat for them to be apart, mostly together than not.

Rather than react with mockery and amusement like his brother had done at this same question, the older dark-haired male's eyes narrowed, quite evidently but bizarrely irate, his tone icy cold: "...Why?"

Totally taken aback by the other's sudden hostility - when he was ordinarily the more 'gallant' one of the two siblings - Sakura, wide-eyed, sincerely didn't know what to say, feeling terribly small under his darkened, belittling glare.

She gulped, unnerved and confused. The older sibling was practically radiating with ire. ... _Why_?

"J-Just asking. Th-That's all."

"Don't," came his sharp, callous and curt reply, leading her to hurriedly mumble an apology, before she quickly avoided his red-hot eyes and riveted all of her attention on her morning meal.

Again, like every 'dish' she had had before this one, it wasn't _much_ , in terms of consistence. Just a glass of water, and that plate of glop...with Heavens knows _what_ was in it - though she tried to convince herself she was far better off not knowing, or she wouldn't take a single bite.

But it _was_ kind of, sort of 'good', she supposed, upon hesitantly taking her first spoonful of it.

Well, anything could taste good when one was _really_ hungry, given that she wasn't eating much.

The young woman _did_ cringe however when the faint taste of eggs hit the back of her tongue, causing her to shudder and her stomach to churn horribly.

...She was quite literally ingesting a hen's _babies_. It was a lot more disturbing than it sounded.

Her captors had 'kindly' told her that they sincerely didn't give a damn about her vegan diet, and that she should be grateful they were even _letting_ her eat at all.

So, she could choose between eating what they made for her without fuss. Or starving. To death.

Given that beggars couldn't be choosers and that she hadn't eaten _a_ _thing_ for two days straight, unfortunately, it hadn't taken long for her to yield.

A grim question of survival as it were, but it did NOT mean she felt great about it. Not at all. Sakura felt rather ill actually. And every bite she took was as if she was committing some sin. But then, she decided that she was **not** the one at fault. _They_ were, as they had left her no choice.

The oldest brother wordlessly watched Sakura chomp away with an unhappy, disgusted frown, forcing herself to finish her plate in a hurry, yet turning faintly greener with every bite she took.

And he had to smirk at the look upon her face, quite viciously entertained. She _really_ couldn't stand any non-vegan food, could she? Poor thing.

Well, if she truly knew _exactly_ what was in that dish, he seriously doubted she'd ever eat again.

"Bathroom?" then offered the elder brother with a fraudulently pleasant smile, when she finally managed to finish up, feeling utterly horrible with a hand held to her mouth as she hiccupped.

Honestly, she was half-tempted to accept. But she was afraid, once she got there, she'd vomit.

"N-No, I'm- _(hiccups)_ I-I'm fi- _(stifled belch)_. ...Um, thanks."

Sakura had added that last bit as an afterthought, not too sure whether it was appropriate or not.

Although mostly diverted, the dark-haired male found himself regarding her in silent curiosity.

Contrarily to his younger brother, he was a very light-sleeper, awake at the slightest of sounds. And if he was here, earlier than usual, it was because he had heard her scream. Brief, but _loud_.

With his sibling asleep, his first thought had been that there was somebody else in the house. Hence, armed with a dagger, he furtively checked around the cottage, but found no break-in. He then made his way over to their captive's room, only to find the door locked, as it had been.

A bit baffled, he then reasoned that she must have had a bad nightmare. In _that_ case, whatever.

Only, just as he was about to make his way back to bed, he then heard her talking. _To herself_.

And that made him pause, rather intrigued. Thus, he backtracked and pryingly tried to listen. But he couldn't make out what she was saying, her voice too faint to hear her words, only able to confirm that she was definitely holding a conversation by her lonesome.

...Had she gone crazy? Finally lost it? Or was she one of those religious people who tended to plead help from some given god?

If it was the latter, she could keep on trying. ...It never worked for _any_ of their previous victims.

Overall, whatever this woman's reasons, she stayed a liability, too arbitrary to control. Meaning that he and his brother would have to begin their games sooner than later. ...Maybe today even. Not that either of the two would really complain on that matter.

"Are you certain?" the older brother finally asked her, his tone calm but cautionary "Neither of us will be back until tonight. And if you make a mess _in here_ , you'll be the one to clean it up."

Lowering her eyes at that, she curled up on herself as she spoke softly, acquiescent: "...I know."

"Suit yourself," he then uttered apathetically as he smoothly shifted forwards - chuckling in dark amusement when she jumped and hurriedly fled to a corner of the room, eyeing him warily - to pick the plate up, before making his way out and swiftly shutting the door behind him.

Very vigilant since their previous lapse in judgment of her, the two terror brothers made sure to take extra precaution with this woman. But too much of it had, alas, led them to a standstill. Hence, their _deadly_ boredom. Which wasn't a good thing. For her.

She was too well confined to try anything - the window was barred with the door constantly locked, and, whenever she was allowed a bathroom break, she never left their sight.

And, ever since her one extreme attempt on their lives, she had shown herself to be exemplary and suspiciously compliant, like no other victim of theirs before her.

Maybe it had to with her past. What she did mention of it _would_ undoubtedly reshape anyone to adapt in dire times, for better or worse. If the dark-haired male were to guess, based on that knowledge, it was as if she was buying her time, waiting for the precise opportunity to retaliate, turning tides. To a drastic advantage.

...Well, at least he knew for certain that's what _he_ and _his brother_ would do in such a situation.

Before the dark past caught up with him, he made to leave, before the eldest of the terror siblings halted in his step and contemplatively considered the door for a bit, before he smiled sinisterly and tranquilly walked away: _'Let's see if you'll bite, shall we, Haruno-san?'_

000000000000000000000000000000000000

Wide green eyes stared straight at the door disbelievingly, wondering if she had to pinch herself.

The tall dark-haired male had left and closed the door behind him, as it'd be done every time. But, this time, for once, for the first time in two days, he hadn't _locked_ it.

Though she strained her ears, she didn't hear the click betraying the routinely carried out action.

Usually, she wouldn't even bother pay attention. And this ever since her first night in this room, where the terror brothers had shoved her in and, without giving her time to react, locked her up.

Given their vigilance and the drastic advantage they had over her - in strength and number - Sakura had decided that it would amount to no good hoping for her scary predicament to better itself. But now... Perhaps, _maybe_ , it could?

Not wanting to get her hopes up, Sakura waited, tense, with stilled breath, counting the seconds, but the lock still didn't turn.

Her eyes swiftly, sharply darted down to the very bottom of the door, studying the gap between the floor and the door's frame, looking for the tell-tale shadow of feet, searching for a presence.

There was nobody standing behind the door.

Other than that, she had no other way to tell if the other was _actually_ gone, given that he and his brother could move like nightfall would. Quiet, discreet and deadly.

Was this negligence? An oversight? A lapse? A mistake? ...Was this a test?

With every inch of her being on high, intense alert, the young woman slowly, cautiously shifted into a crouched position, inattentively donning a demeanour she hadn't used in a _very_ long time.

In the moment, this very moment, she was no longer Sakura.

'Sakura' had gone to sleep, and the more instinctive, subconscious part of herself became wide awake. The part that wouldn't consider matters such as ethics and emotions for a single second.

Her Darker Half. Her Other Self. The Other Her _**(2)**_. ...The voice in her head.

In all honesty, the young pink-haired woman truly hadn't let this transition happen on purpose.

It had transpired without her consent, without her realizing.

She wasn't joking when she stated that she could _**not**_ control nor contain this part of herself. Unless it was via her meds.

It had a mind of its own, acting with only one issue as its single motivation. Sakura's welfare.

And it was not even a generous, altruistic act on its part. It couldn't be more selfish, actually. Because without Sakura, it would not exist. As simple as that. And that, was unacceptable to it.

Boldly, but also very vigilantly, making its way towards the door, the _Other Her_ gingerly tested the doorknob. It offered no resistance, opening as soon as it was used to its appropriate function.

Calm, the _Other Her_ waited, stalling for a second, before walking right out, all set for the worst.

000000000000000000000000000000000000

Sakura steadily felt her awareness return to her, and she blinked, hazily, warily looking around, before turning rigid little by little, effortlessly recognizing what happened to her.

If she'd blacked out without reason or recollection, it meant that her _Other Self_ had taken over.

A chilling sensation ran through her entire being, green eyes going wide with increasing terror before, ever so slowly, glancing downwards fearfully, instantly taking in the state of her hands.

Apart from the screwdriver now in her grip, which she didn't have before, her hands were clean. Spotless. ...Bloodless.

A sudden surge of relief filled her as she staggered and leant in weakly against the closest wall, a shy away from letting out a soft, watery sob.

Still, it was official. She was now in _desperate_ need of her medication. Or something very, _very_ bad was going to ensue, something Sakura would _forever_ regret. And severely hate herself for.

The young woman should have realized earlier that she was spiralling down to this condition the moment she came up with the terrific idea of using rat poison to rid herself of her captors. No matter how grim her situation, she wouldn't, _couldn't_ , resort to such drastic, harsh methods.

But her _Other Self_ would. Within a heartbeat and without hesitance. ... _And_ without permission.

She actually considered herself pretty damn lucky that nothing had _happened_. That no one _died_.

The young pink-haired woman shivered, trying to shake it off for the moment and concentrate.

So, her _Darker Half_ somehow got her out and a few steps away from her makeshift prison room.

Ok. Good. She _was_ a little bit grateful, she supposed.

... _Now_ what?

Nervously tucking a few stray locks behind her ear and listening carefully, Sakura prudently decided to make her way downstairs and see what she could do from there. Because, once again, no escape was feasible from this floor, lest she wished to fall to her death or be disabled for life.

Softly tiptoeing along as she made her way down the upper hall, with her attentiveness on high alert, she spied the door to her room halfway open and promptly paused in her steps, hesitating.

Should Sakura try and go in? What would she stumble upon if she did?

Contemplative and very cautious, the young pink-haired woman carefully weighed her options.

Still quite rattled over the fact that she really needed her meds, she decided it was probably best to start with that. And they were _in_ her room, upon her bedside table.

She simply hadn't thought it wise to ask her captors to let her have them, out of fear that they'd refuse. Or worse, do something like dump them in the bin or the like, given that they seemed to favour, to ecstatically _**enjoy**_ , doing _exactly_ the opposite of what her pleas would be.

Those bloody, bastardly sadists.

Therefore, struggling to make as little noise as possible, she silently made her way to her room.

Tentatively peering in, she squinted, trying to adjust her gaze to the dim curtained room, before her eyes then doubled in size, and she hurriedly clapped a hand to mouth, nearly gasping aloud.

Right on her bed, in the comfort of the dark, laid the two brothers, loosely embracing each other and fast asleep. Well, at least seemingly so, given the slow, shallow rise and fall of their chests.

Dazed, Sakura could only stare, blinking more than once, to make sure she wasn't seeing things, mind replaying one question.

Why on earth were they sleeping _together_ , within the _same_ bed?

Ok, they were brothers. Fine. So _**why**_ did it feel like she tumbled upon a portrait so... _intimate_?

Blushing red at that far-fetched thought, she hastily took a few steps back, hand still to her lips.

She couldn't go in, regardless of her discomfort.

She didn't want to risk waking them. If they _were_ indeed asleep. Sakura honestly wouldn't be surprised to find that they were slyly trying to fool her.

Compelling her overwrought mind to calm itself down, the young pink-haired woman reasoned that she could eventually get back to her stuff - in addition to her room and her entire house - if she were only able to find a way to report her ugly, deadly predicament to the authorities, fast. So, once again, her top and pressing priority was to _get_ the hell _out_.

Descending the stairs slow, glancing over her shoulder apprehensively with every step she took, she made her way down.

But she couldn't help herself from thinking back to what she'd seen.

Initially stunned by the sight, she eventually reasoned that it had to do with the fact that her bed was _very_ comfortable and large enough to host more than two people.

Although, she had no idea _why_ two fully grown men would want to sleep in the same bed, even if they were brothers. It was...a little strange.

Though it wasn't any of her business and she wasn't meant to care, she couldn't quite shake off this feeling that there was an _oddity_ to it, one she couldn't place. But again, _none_ of her business.

Truth to be told, that bed of hers was rather convenient for when Ino and Hinata would come over for sleepovers.

The three would have fun late chats together, talking gossip, watching hours of Netflix and eating all sorts of unhealthy junk food - from ice-cream to nachos - before her two friends would then eventually retreat to the guest room, whenever they felt too tired to keep it up.

For there was this unspoken rule where the pink-haired woman preferred to sleep on her own. With the exception of Mittens - she was really starting to miss her lovable, little kitten, wherever he was - no one ever slept in the same room as her. Ever.

Given that her past traumas were hers and hers alone, she'd rather no one, not even her closest and dearest of friends, ever be bothered by her nasty nightmares, and _other_ nocturnal horrors...

Speaking of which, apart from those ghastly snippets still lingering nastily - like opening a vivid wound upon trotting down memory lane a few days ago - she hadn't had any bad dreams lately.

Possibly due to living nightmares in her waking hours, with those two volatile strangers lurking, ready to end her life whenever they judged it fitting.

In addition to that, she was slowly getting to experience first-hand just _how_ unhinged they were.

However, she then had to halt in her thoughts as that scene from before came back to her mind.

Being an only child, she didn't know a lot about sibling love. But those two brothers were close. _Real_ close. Like they had and had always had only each other, and nothing but.

Regardless of what they've done to her so far, it _was_ a fairly nice thought, to know that one was loved and never alone.

The only love Sakura knew of was the one she gladly shared with her best and closest friends. Ino, Lee, Naruto, Hinata and Neji. They were all she had today. And never, ever wished to lose.

Curtly chasing away that last dark thought, the young pink-haired woman finally reached the end of the stairwell and warily walked towards the lounge area, _purposely_ avoiding the kitchen. It would take her _quite_ some time prior to feeling at ease again in there.

Poking her head over the doorway, she cast a cursory glance inside. There was no one within the living room - meaning that the two brothers were indeed upstairs and she hadn't been seeing makeshift lumps kids would build to trick their parents.

Hurrying on in, Sakura made a beeline straight for the phone, nearly falling down in her rush.

Though the two siblings preferred to roam around in the dark, for some mystifying reason, they had had the decency to put the power back on, so the young woman's 'prisonlike room' had light whenever she needed it.

However, when thinking ahead on the matter, it also meant that everything _else_ was functional. And given she had no idea what those two had done with her keys, this was her only salvation.

Quickly picking up the receiver and about ready to deal, all her hopes found themselves cruelly and instantly crushed when she heard the dead line.

...They might have put the power back up, but they must have cut off something. Always steps ahead of her. It would have been too easy otherwise, and she would have miles away by now...

Engulfed with desperation and exasperation at her every foiled attempt to flee, Sakura flung the receiver away thoughtlessly, only realizing what she was doing _after_ it had been done.

Following the fast flying object with eyes widened in sheer alarm, the young woman awaited, horrified, for it to fall and make an abrupt, cacophonic noise.

But that dreaded sound never came. Instead, rather than a loud clatter, she heard a dull thump.

Baffled and intrigued, Sakura got to her feet and rushed to peer over the sofa, only to find that the telephone's receiver, instead of dropping onto the wooden floors, had fallen upon a large, black bag in the corner.

She frowned faintly, head tilted, blinking. That bag wasn't hers. It had to belong to her captors.

Curiosity got the best of her, leading her to move over to it and carefully unzip the big bag open.

...She _really_ wished she hadn't.

Because, though upon first glance all of its contents seemed utterly harmless, if not just messily strewn together - several rolls of duct tape, cords, wires and ropes, tablets and pills, scrapbooks, empty glass jars and vials of all sizes, matches, and much more - they all took a new, darker meaning once she opened the largest, most eye-catching scrapbook she found along the 'junk'.

Unfortunately for her, Sakura had stumbled upon a collection of the terror brothers'...exploits. And it was graphic, horrific. _Detailed_. Every sixty pages or so dedicated to the extreme and exact level of torture their victim had to endure at their hands. A single victim, for _sixty_ pages.

And, with the ghastly, ghoulish narrative present in those pages, scribbled out in a terrifyingly neat handwriting, it soon became very clear what the bag's contents were for.

According to those pages, the rolls of duct tape, cords, wires and ropes were means of restraint.

According to those pages, the tablets and pills were strong drugs with various, worrying effects.

According to those pages, the scrapbooks were there to record details of the victim's suffering.

According to those pages, the vials and jars were meant to collect the victim's blood and eyes.

And according to those pages, the matches were for burning the victim alive after those 30 days.

 _Thirty_ days, of nonstop, relentless, reasonless, cruel, macabre torture - without bringing up what _wasn't_ present in this bag, such as the siblings' daggers and knives - and then, death. ...By fire.

...And if the young pink-haired woman were to understand this well, _she_ was their _next_ victim.

This bag, of untouched and unused 'goods', was meant for _her_.

Eyes blown wide as she shook, Sakura, aghast and ashen pale, couldn't move, couldn't breathe.

The two brothers weren't just a bit deranged or just a tad sadistic. They were total _psychopaths_.

...Psychopathy.

This was taking a startling direction all too familiar to her and she felt like retching. Or passing out, whichever kindly came first.

And here she'd been graciously thinking that her current captors were different from _that_ one. Not so much, apparently...

She was going to die. Definitely. Assuredly. No escape. There was _**no way**_ out for her. ...None.

' _Let me, Sakura. Let_ _ **me**_ _help.'_

"And _**I**_ flatly reject the 'help' you're referring to," uttered Sakura harshly, raging and distraught, panic-stricken and freaked out "So, leave. Me. _Alone_."

Yet it was tempting, truly. Given how desperate her situation was becoming, the young woman was very tempted to let her _Darker Half_ come out again, wreak havoc, and ultimately save her.

But at what price? Simple. It was one she couldn't bear to live with. _More_ blood on her hands.

In dire need to clear her head and breathe, Sakura slowly got to the feet of wobbly legs, but as she did so, she abruptly lost her footing and collided with the couch, hands accidently falling upon the remote. Which, in turn, accidently switched the television on.

Being jittery and hysterical caused her to jump as voices from the TV filled the lounge. _Loudly_.

Panicking, with her first, immediate thought being that her captors would overhear and come rushing down only to initiate her days of torture like that she'd seen, Sakura flew for the remote.

Grabbing it and hastily searching for the off-button, she was just about to switch off the telly, when she stilled completely, eyes doubling in size, with sheer and utter shock, stunned further.

Right there, right on her television screen, staring back at her with their deadly, cold black eyes, were the faces of the two terror brothers. Framed in mug shot pictures.

' _-the Uchiha brothers, Itachi and Sasuke, two notorious criminals who are still on the run. On a violent killing spree since their teenage years, these two sinister serial killers and rapists have committed the most atrocious and heinous of crimes. And have yet to stop. Armed and extremely dangerous, they are, without a doubt, cold-blooded, madmen. We highly recommend, no matter the circumstances, should anyone meet the brothers that they directly run for safety. If anyone has any information, from sightings to chance encounters, please do not hesitate to contact-'_

"Like what you're learning so far, Haruno-san?" inquired a voice all of a sudden from behind her, causing the young woman to jump out of her skin, startled, and drop the remote control.

As it fell down with a dull thud onto the carpet by the sofa, she hurriedly swirled around to see the exact same faces the news had been showing her.

Her wide, rattled eyes then darted between the television and the two broadly smirking siblings, horrified by the truth she immediately grasped - thankfully, she was not _that_ dumb - but utterly unable to make herself put it into words, mouth totally dry, teeth clattering.

"You... Y-You- Y-You're-"

 _Them_. She knew. But she couldn't voice it. Her ability to speak was not functioning right now.

"Why yes, that _would_ be us," chuckled the elder brother, sinisterly amused whilst he loosely wrapped an arm around his younger brother, who just grinned wider at the sight of her terror.

Green eyes wide, Sakura froze up, totally and unreservedly petrified out of her skin and mind.

Not only she now had a name to put to these two trespassers, but she also knew exactly what they were capable of. And just how horrendously _worse_ her whole predicament had become...

They weren't just serial killers, as she had first assumed with ease. They were also serial _rapists_.

The very thing she had feared them being, without them even exhibiting _any_ hints to that. ...Yet.

She didn't know them. The young woman originally knew _nothing_ about them to judge them, and nothing proved to her at the moment that they wouldn't sexually assault her, sooner or later.

Not even that vivid, horrifying red scrapbook she had inadvertently read through hinted to that - and she briefly had to wonder if they had purposely left that for her to stumble upon.

Nonetheless, despite the unravelling panic she was going through, she now, finally, had a name. The Uchiha brothers. Itachi and Sasuke.

...On a _**violent**_ killing spree - amongst their _many_ other crimes - since they were in their _teenage_ years.

Sakura cast a long, startled wide-eyed look at them, trying to guess their _actual_ age, as an eerie question gradually rose in her mind.

...Just _**how long**_ have they been running around uncontrollably vicious, wild and mad like this?

Feeling like a cornered prey as they lazily, slowly closed in on her, Sakura breathed roughly as she curled up on herself, frozen stiff where she stood and dearly regretting that she'd put the screwdriver down as she went digging through the bag.

Screw her curiosity. ...No pun intended.

"...Why? _Why_ 're doing this?" stammered the young woman, now borderline hysterical with fear "Can't you just leave me alone? _What_ do you two even WANT from me?!"

"Only your suffering, dear Haruno-san."

Once again, _never_ had vague replies ever seemed so utterly and dreadfully terrifying to hear...

"...My suffering?" she echoed quietly with a tiny, terrified voice, her whispering tone clogged "Don't you think I've suffered _enough_?"

"So, you _did_ hope we'd pity you. Tch, how boring," sneered the younger sibling with contempt, unimpressed, before he lethally uttered words that made her shiver and shudder with gripping horror and anguish "Your parents were killed in front of you. So what? You were kidnapped and held captive for four years. _Big_ deal. You had no other choice but to harm your captor to escape. Cry me a fucking river. You _have_ suffered, Haruno-san. We won't deny you that part. But you've clearly haven't suffered enough. At least, not by _our_ hand."

There he - Sasuke, was it? - went at it again, striking at every nerve that would make her bleed.

Before Sakura could even utter a retort, a knock at her front door had all three of them go still.

"...Expecting someone, Haruno-san?" inquired the eldest Uchiha sibling - Itachi, she believed - looking over his shoulder and considering the door closely with watchful and spookily regaled, dark eyes.

About to shake her head, the warm voice that called out at that very moment had all the colours drain from her face, turning her deathly pale as undefinable dread clutched savagely at her core. No fear she _ever_ had to experience in her life was worse than the one currently devouring her...

"Hey, Sakura-chan! Open up, it's Naruto! Hinata-chan and I came to check on you, dattebayo!"

...No. No WAY was this happening right now. It couldn't be. ...But it was. It most _surely_ was.

Two of Sakura's dear friends stood on her doorstep, whereas mad killers stood within her house. Whilst the voice seated deep within her mind was but two steps away from committing murder.

 **To be continued...**

 **A/N:** Oh my God, I've been _dying_ to take this direction for a while now, and I'm so thrilled it's finally here. ...Um, _thrilled_? Isn't that like an awful thing to say? ...Meh. I actually don't care. In any case, writing fanfiction stays tremendously therapeutic for me. Give it a go if you're ever going through bad times. It can be a true helper, trust me.

This may sound odd, but I sincerely hope you guys have **no** idea where I'm going with this fic. Feel free to guess, but personally, I _love_ reading stories where I'm incapable of anticipating anything. So, in turn, I'll try to deliver as best as I can with this fic.

Next update, if everything goes well (I hope), will be on _**March 27**_ _ **th**_. So until then, ladies, gents and everybody else, take care! _Bella_ Ciao!

 _ **(1)**_ A thoughtful tribute, if you will, to the movie _'Knock, Knock'_ which inspired this very fic.

 _ **(2)**_ Kudos to anyone who gets _what_ I'm referencing here. Just a quick explanation though. Anyone who's watched or read _Naruto_ ( _from_ start _to_ finish) should know about Sakura's _'Inner Self'_. You know, that figure in black and white that pops up whenever Sakura's angry and all? That's the one. Personally, I find that side of her fascinating. And it's a shame we didn't get to see that side ALL the time. Would have been TOTALLY wicked. So, in addition to me finding split personalities _really_ intriguing, I wanted to explore a Sakura with such an ailment. Ta-da!

 **Next Chapter, Preview:**

 _Green eyes stared at the blond boy, incredulity and anticipation vivifying their usual dullness, before they reluctantly glanced away, dolefully dimming again._

" _...Are you sure you want to be talking to me?" she whispered softly, gaze drifting over to the other kids in the distance, muttering amidst themselves and pointing fingers at her. In loathing. In fear. Not that she blamed them. They couldn't be more dead-on._

 _Her question seemed to confuse the other, because he had tilted his head and raised an eyebrow, but even so he replied genuinely all the same: "I mean, yeah. Why wouldn't I?"_

 _She couldn't help it. Shaking her head, she let out a short, mirthless laugh, unable to hold it in._

" _Didn't you hear? ...I'm a freak," divulged the young girl cuttingly, her voice shattering as she hatefully uttered that word, so accurate, so fitting, so her, before burying her face in her hands._


	6. Chapter 5: Bygone Memories

**Dark Play (a Naruto Fanfiction) by Seth's Kiss:**

A/N: Hello, ladies, gents and everyone else! Hope you're doing swell. I'm late by a day, yay. Getting better, I guess. So, this chapter will majorly be a flashback, and I'm terribly afraid it's quite _lacking_ in length compared to the chapters before it. Truth is, I simply jotted out what I had to narrate, and then couldn't find anything more to add. And I'm not sure I'm ok with that. I'm not used to writing _**short**_ chapters, this _is_ new for me. That being said, on with the chapter!

 **To Koga:** Hello and thank you so much for your review! Wow, you have no idea how much your kind words flatter me! Thank you! I sincerely hope that the rest of this fic will be up to your expectations. Thanks again! And please do enjoy Chapter 5! Until next update, I hope!

Important Warnings: Quite mild here, if I may. Just a few hints of blood, injuries and language. The usual. All's cool.

 **Chapter 5: Bygone Memories**

 _Senju Tsunade_ _ **(1)**_ _was a rather uncomplicated woman. As long as she had her daily dose of liquor, she was the happiest there was. As simple as that._

 _Humming to herself an uneven tune, the blonde woman of forty produced a couple more bottles from her unlimited reserves, tucked them under her arms - and in her pockets, and in the sash at her waist...and literally wherever else she could fit them - and then headed for her veranda-like porch, at the back of her cottage-like house._

 _It was a nice, spring night outside, with a cloudless, star-filled sky. So, rather than stay huddled up like an old lady in her timeworn, but elegant, chalet, what better way to enjoy a good drink? Surely, there was no equal in life._

 _Although, being the woman she was, she_ _ **had**_ _already had a few drinks - three bottles...or was it five? No, no. It was six, she was sure of it - so she was a bit tipsy, tottering and hiccupping as she went, but she eventually made it outside._

 _Closing her eyes and breathing in deep the fresh night air with a contented sigh, the blonde lady then clumsily directed herself to the corner where the woven chaise was. Only to stumble suddenly and lose her footing, a few bottles slipping from her hold as she tried to plant her feet._

 _Cursing under her breath as she heard the glass smash, indicating the drastic loss of_ _ **very**_ _good drinks, Tsunade, bewildered, looked down, not understanding why she had missed her step so. It had been as if she had walked right into something. Or was she imaging things?_

 _She wasn't_ _ **that**_ _drunk. And yet, she wasn't drunk enough, nor ready, for what she came to see. A sight that would haunt her for many nights and years to come._

 _With her thudding heart jumping to her throat, she couldn't, for the life of her, pry her widened eyes from the not-so-little lump laying upon her porch, fully drenched from head to toe in red - bright, blood red which she could easily see due to the gentle lights hanging by her back door._

 _It was a body. A child's body._

 _It literally looked like some scene right out of a horror or gore movie. There was so much blood, too much of it, that the woman could not tell the gender of the little one, laying there, unmoving. Nor see their hair colour, nor the features of their face. But Tsunade could see flesh and bone, could smell the rotten iron scent associated with blood._

 _The scene was so ugly, so shocking, so brutal, that the blonde woman wished to blame what she was witnessing on the alcohol in her system. But the sight, the smell, the scene was_ _ **all**_ _too real._

 _The remaining bottles in her grasp crashed to the floor as Tsunade finally snapped out of her horror and rushed to kneel by the child's side, shocked to her core and not sure where to start._

" _Good Heavens!" gasped the woman, the harm even worse up close 'Is-? Is this kid even alive?'_

 _No matter how long she looked, Tsunade could not make out the rise and fall of the young one's chest, unable to tell if they were breathing or not._

 _And she did not dare touch the child for a pulse, out of sheer fright that she would find none..._

 _Frantic mind a complete mess, the forty-year old woman had absolutely no idea what to do. Sure, she knew the basics, but she had never been confronted to a situation like this one. And the longer she waited, the less chances this kid had of surviving. ...If they weren't dead already._

 _All of a sudden, the lump covered in red coughed roughly, blood spurting from its mouth, before it then let out a soft, near inaudible whimper. And then, its eyes slowly, bit by bit, cracked open._

 _Framed by long, dark thick lashes, the child's eyes were mostly bloodshot, but with irises of a breath-taking green, like two emeralds shining in the dark. Shining, with the fervent will to live._

 _Tsunade was beyond shocked. The child_ _ **was**_ _alive. Barely, but they were._

 _And that look in those brilliant eyes gave the woman the push she needed to spring into action._

" _...Hey. Hey there. Stay with me, honey, ok? Can you do that for me, love? Blink if you got me."_

 _After what seemed like an eternity and more, the child blinked. Once. Slowly. But they blinked._

 _Tsunade smiled shakily, feeling a surge of relief she didn't realize she desperately needed, before she reached out to the injured kid with extreme care: "Ok, good, honey. Now, up we go. I'll be careful, I swear. Got a name, sweetie?"_

" _...Haruno Sakura."_

 _As carefully and as gently as she could, for she had no idea what the damage inflicted to this child was, the blonde woman gingerly picked up the bleeding youth and rushed back inside, before doing the best she could to patch up the kid to prevent further harm from coming to them._

 _With that done, she'd definitely call an ambulance and the authorities or something to take it from there. But Tsunade firmly decided that she would not leave this young one. ...She couldn't._

 _Call it a gut feeling, call it maternal instinct, call it the fact she couldn't have children of her own, call it whatever the hell, Tsunade felt that she shouldn't leave this little one by themselves._

 _And that was probably one of the best decisions she had ever made in all her forty empty years._

 _ **A year or so later**_

" _No way in hell."_

 _The tray the little pink-haired girl of eleven had just set down found itself shoved to the floor, its contents now a large, ugly splotch on the canteen's tiles._

 _Rather than silence or shock at the unfolding scene, an escalating, noisy dissonance of derisive snickers and disdainful murmurs filled the lunchroom, while the girl stayed still, letting it occur._

" _You're_ _ **not**_ _sitting with us. Beat it."_

 _Keeping her face without emotion, the young pink-haired girl didn't say a word, didn't make a sound as she sharply turned on her heel and made her way out of the canteen, loud booing and jeering trailing her as she went. As well as whispers she'd been hearing for quite a while now._

" _...Heard of her?"_

" _She's new here, right?"_

" _She is. I don't know her name, but I've heard that she's a little strange."_

" _A_ _ **little**_ _? You're joking. She's creepy as hell."_

" _Yep. And she's changed schools eight times last year."_

" _Whoa. She's trying to break a record or something?"_

" _Why change schools that many times?"_

" _Because she's creepy, duh."_

" _...Ok. And what's her name though?"_

" _Haruno Sakura, the lost child."_

" _Yeah. She started living here exactly a week ago."_

" _Living here? In the school?"_

" _The head adopted her. Distant relative or something. Decided she was better here than out in other schools."_

" _Why's she called 'the lost child'?"_

" _I heard it's because she ran away from home and disappeared for whole four years. Police started calling her that after the first eleven months, when not a single trace was found of her. She was finally found a year ago though."_

" _And how was she found?"_

" _In the middle of a forest, living like an animal, all rabid like and stuff."_

" _But I heard it was in someone's backyard. She was trying to steal some apples."_

" _What I know is that she was found up in the mountains, in a cave walled by skeleton bones."_

" _Ok, now_ _ **that's**_ _creepy."_

" _Told you."_

" _Why'd she run away? From home?"_

" _Happened right after her parents committed suicide, right?"_

" _They_ _ **what**_ _now?"_

" _Committed suicide. You know? S-U-C-I-D. Aka killing yourself."_

" _...At least spell it right."_

" _Tch. Nerd."_

" _They shot each other, you know?"_

" _Wrong. It was done with knives. They stabbed each other in the heart. At the same time."_

" _No, no, no. I hear they hanged themselves. Roped their necks and jumped out the window."_

" _...Wasn't it all three?"_

" _Be real, idiot. Can you actually shot, stab_ _ **and**_ _hang someone or yourself_ _ **all**_ _at the same time?"_

" _You could in a video game."_

" _For the millionth time, life IS_ _ **NOT**_ _a video game, baka."_

" _...It can be."_

" _However it happened, must have been a real pain of a child for her parents to want to die..."_

" _Word."_

 _ **Over two years later**_

 _Rumours didn't get to her. They never did. After all, those who built them lacked imagination. Drastically so._

 _And of the rare few who'd get it nearly right, a semblance of the actual truth, it still didn't hurt._

 _She let them talk, let them lie, let them hate her, let them sneer at her as she walked passed them, let them talk ill about her, let them provoke her...The girl never reacted, didn't bother to._

 _They were all, all of them, just a blink of a painful moment in her life. Some had it worse._ _ **She**_ _had been through a lot worse. This was nothing. It would come to pass. She need only be patient._

 _As long as her main and more troubling concern didn't_ _ **ever**_ _happen again - which, thankfully, hadn't occurred once since she'd been in this school, under the loving and attentive eye of her caretaker - everything was perfectly fine._

 _Their constant whispers had simply become a natural part of her surroundings, like particles of irritating, buzzing noise in the air which would follow her around - like loyal but aggravating mongrels - wherever she'd go, within the school's walls._

 _And so they followed her, even as she was currently making her way towards the lavatory stalls._

 _Dabbing away at her seeping eyeliner, the young teen then opened the sink to wash her hands. As she went in to clean her face, footsteps neared. And, in addition, the feeling of an ill omen._

 _Water dripping from her cheeks, like thousands of tears she would rather not shed, she slowly turned, her withdrawn, green eyes falling upon a bunch of sneering girls just as they bolted the door shut behind them._

 _Eyeing them aloofly, the young pink-haired teen sighed heavily. No evading their aversion now._

000000000000000000000000000000000000

" _Demon!"_

" _Monster!"_

" _ **FREAK**_ _!"_

 _Falling onto her knees hard, arms wrapped tight around her midsection, the young girl gasped and coughed, her breath erratic and wheezy._

 _Head hung low as she attempted to catch her breath, the pink-haired teenager barely had the time to recover when she took yet another unrelenting kick, this one striking her jaw and sending her reeling. And she was pretty sure she saw stars, pain throbbing alive from every hit she got._

 _A token of their profound resentment._

 _The group of stuck-up, self-centred girls had come in strength as a pack of six, all fuelled with spite, jealousy and disgust for a girl they've never talked to. But certainly had a lot to say about._

" _You've got_ _ **nothing**_ _do here. This is_ _ **our**_ _school," hissed one of them, pure venom in her tone as she wiped the sole of her shoe on the pink-haired girl's skirt "Leave and never come back."_

" _She should go kill herself," taunted another girl with derision and disdain, drawing scathing laughter and hoots from the others, in total agreement with her "Her parents did it just fine."_

 _At first, dead silence met them, with the pink-haired just closing her eyes, holding back a sigh._

 _Though the audacity for violence was new, the young teenager had gotten pretty used to their insults and jibes. But there_ _ **was**_ _a limit to verbal abuse, and yet, she chose not to give in to them._

' _Try not to get expelled again, honey,' voiced Tsunade with gentle eyes and a comforting, motherly embrace 'Your studies are more important than_ _ **anything**_ _they have to say. Be strong.'_

 _For that woman who cared for her and took her in without ever asking for anything in return, the young girl was willing to let this fleeting instant pass. She wasn't going to keep quiet though._

" _Never have I done anything to you," she pointed out, eyes opening again and giving them a lethally calm and levelled look, which only served to ignite them more rather than pacify them._

" _Tch. Your_ _ **presence**_ _does something to me," sneered a third girl thinly, young, pretty features twisted with sheer nastiness "Makes me sick. You don't belong here, bitch. Get the hell out."_

" _When I'm a student, just like you?"_

 _At that, the first girl who had spoken earlier simply raged, eyes ablaze and spitting angry fire: "You're NOTHING like us! Don't EVEN suggest it, fucking freak!"_

 _As she seethed at the prospect of being compared to this...nothing, this nobody, the mean girl rose high the metal rod she held - each girl had brought one along, and some of their makeshift weapons had blood on them already, the pink-haired girl's blood - ready to strike their victim with it. Violently and with the intent to hurt. A lot._

 _Only, she was prevented from doing so, by the very girl who had orchestrated the whole thing, a smile to her lips as she patted her friend's shoulder to stop her._

 _The girl then stepped forwards and glanced down patronizingly at their victim, before threading her fingers through that pink hair, as if she was touching something particularly vile, unclean: "Speaking about that, your hair shouldn't be this long. You have no right to it. No right to look like_ _ **us**_ _. Time for a haircut, Haruno."_

 _A cry escaped the bullied girl as one of them viciously grabbed at her pink locks all while two others held her arms twisted in nasty positions. And she immediately tried to grapple and battle, but being bruised and battered didn't help her, neither did her vulnerable position on her knees._

 _The architect for this whole example of abuse then produced a pair of large, sharpened scissors, letting out a harsh, mocking laugh, her expression tainted with all the spite in her hollow being._

 _Snip, snip, snip._

 _Randomly done, purposely messy, the blades of the scissors far too near to the passive victim's ears and neck for comfort._

 _Once she was done, the mean girl smirked and haughtily admired her carnage, before grabbing the silent girl's jaw in a painful hold. But then, their eyes locked. And the bullying girl froze._

 _There was nothing in those eerie green eyes. No anger, no distress, no alarm, no humiliation. Just..._ _ **nothing**_ _._

 _It shouldn't be so chilling. But it was. It was like those eyes had seen worse than this. Far worse._

 _Faintly put-off and mostly irked that she'd failed to draw a reaction, the mean girl still managed to feel smug, quite satisfied with her achievement, one she had wanted for a while now, leading her to grin nastily: "There you go, freak. A nice, clean cut."_

 _...And those were the very words that pathetic, ignorant girl should have_ _ **never**_ _uttered out loud. For, but a fraction of seconds after that sentence was voiced, the pink-haired girl blacked out._

 _ **Three months after**_

 _The young teenager let out a quiet, shuddering breath and ran a shaky hand through her unruly and uneven pink strands of hair._

 _With a thick book rested upon her lap, she was attempting to focus on the pages in front of her, retaining lessons of basic science, on the first cells and the dawn of life._

 _But the sound of daring and vile whispers, nasty words of cutting truth and prying indiscretion, were breaching her concentration, piercing through it like anesthetizing needles, numbing her. For they were now worse than ever before._

" _Did you hear? What Haruno did? To the lead cheerleader, Reina-chan_ _ **(2)**_ _?"_

" _Who didn't? It was gory, I heard. She punched her bloody raw."_

" _Some say Haruno even scratched her. And bit her too. Is she some kind of savage?"_

" _I heard there were also broken bones on top of all that."_

" _Yeah. Cracked skull. A busted nose. A broken arm, from wrist to shoulder. Shattered pelvis."_

" _Ribs too. Seven of them. They punctured her lungs. ...It's a REAL wonder Reina's still_ _ **alive**_ _."_

" _Good God. I thought she was just weird and creepy. But Haruno's an actual_ _ **freak**_ _, damn it."_

" _Freak is too nice a word, for someone who was so close to committing damn, bloody murder."_

" _What the heck is she? Cursed? Jinxed? Some twisted scientific experiment gone wrong? Her parents commit suicide and people around her get near punched to death?"_

" _Guys. ...What if_ _ **she**_ _killed her parents?"_

" _Oh my God, what if she_ _ **did**_ _?"_

" _At six? That's pushing it."_

" _...The worst part? Haruno's still_ _ **here**_ _, and Reina's hospitalized. Probably even for life."_

" _What makes you say that? She'll be ok, won't she?"_

" _You're kidding, right? With what's been_ _ **done**_ _to her? Haruno beat Reina up into_ _ **a coma**_ _. And no one knows when she'll wake up."_

" _ **If**_ _she wakes up."_

" _What?! No, not Reina_ __ _-chan! She's the lead of our cheer squad! What will we do without her?! The basketball play-offs will be soon, and we don't have a routine yet! We're_ _ **totally**_ _doomed!"_

" _Relax. We'll just ask Yamanaka when she comes back. She's very good. We'll be ok with her."_

" _...If you say so."_

" _What I don't get is why does the school keep Haruno? That monster has nothing to do here."_

" _And the police? Can't they do anything?"_

" _Useless idiots ruled it out as self-defence. Fuck that. Haruno should be_ _ **in jail**_ _. And rot there."_

" _But she's underage, isn't sh-?"_

" _Haruno's an_ _ **animal**_ _. A beast. And a beast belongs in a cage. ...Or someone else will be next."_

" _...I think I'm going to change schools. I don't feel safe here anymore."_

' _Who would?' thought Sakura bitterly, snapping her eyes closed and slamming her book shut._

000000000000000000000000000000000000

 _She felt a presence, but she didn't look up, hoping whoever it was would eventually get the hint and walk away._

 _But they didn't._

 _Feeling ill at ease, she dragged her green eyes away from her dark drawings and scribbles, before raising an eyebrow at the one just standing there, refusing to leave until acknowledged: "Can I help you?"_

 _She was greeted with a bright, sunny smile upon a gentle, sun-kissed skin, with the bluest of eyes, regarding her attentively from underneath messy, spikey trims of golden blond for hair._

 _Point in fact, upon first glance, everything about this lively-looking boy was all vivid sunshine. It was near blinding, painful, to look at him, as it seemed like he had never been sad in his life. ...Lucky him._

" _Hey," he grinned, before jutting his chin towards the bench she was on "Is it ok if I sit here?"_

 _Although she didn't feel at all threatened by this boy, she was immediately suspicious: "Why?"_

 _Sensing her cynicism, he blinked at her, a blond eyebrow raised: "Why not? No harm, right?"_

 _Indeed not._

 _He looked like a sweet guy, maybe even really nice too. Too nice for her to be entirely trusting._

 _She knew him, seen him before. He was one of the popular guys, good at sports, an athlete, if she was getting her facts right. So, she didn't get why he was suddenly here, talking to her._

 _She swiftly scanned the crowd of students around, trying to pick up if this was a joke or the like, but no one was looking their way. Now, she was confused. Notably if this boy was being honest._

 _She was not used to friendliness, and was rapidly wary of it, not really knowing how to face it._

 _But, upon observing the other a couple seconds longer, she then decided to give him a chance. If she was wrong about her first impression of him, she supposed she'd simply regret it later. In that case, whatever, right?_

" _...Sure," she relented eventually, moving her things and shifting to make room on the bench._

 _And so, still smiling, he sat on the bench beside her and began talking in a cheery tone._ _ **Nonstop**_ _._

 _Barely listening to him talk away, two very significant things came to her attention as he spoke, of a content so casual, and yet so personal, that it was a wonder he was sharing it with_ _ **her**_ _, a person, a complete stranger he had just met and knew nothing of._

 _One, nothing in his demeanour, behaviour or speech appeared to hint at any adverse feelings towards her. Two, if she wasn't wrong, he was actually talking to her to make her feel...better?_

 _This was too weird to be real._

 _Wide stunned green eyes stared at the blond boy, incredulity and anticipation vivifying their usual dullness, before they then reluctantly glanced away, dolefully dimming again: "Why are you talking to me?"_

 _Rumours travelled faster than diseases. Hadn't anyone told him anything? Did he even know? Care? Was he here talking to her to check things out? Out of morbid curiosity? Out of boredom?_

" _Huh? Oh. Because I wanted to."_

' _...Really? Just like that, huh?' she thought in utter wonder, before she persisted, trying to a find a chink in his attitude, trying to catch a hidden, deceitful lie somewhere "But_ _ **why**_ _?"_

" _You looked lonely," he confessed as he scratched at the back of his neck, a habit, before he gave a small, sincere and sympathetic smile "I know what that's like, so I thought you wouldn't mind the company. Or do you?"_

" _I don't. Not really. Not yours anyway, I guess. But..." she whispered softly, gaze drifting over again to the other kids in the distance, muttering amidst themselves and pointing fingers at her. In loathing. In fear. Not that she blamed them. They couldn't be more dead-on._

" _...Are you_ _ **sure**_ _you want to be talking to_ _ **me**_ _?"_

 _Her question seemed to confuse the other, because he had tilted his head and raised an eyebrow, but even so he replied genuinely all the same: "I mean, yeah. Why wouldn't I? ...Shouldn't I?"_

 _She couldn't help it. Shaking her head, she let out a short, mirthless laugh, unable to hold it in._

" _Didn't you hear? ...I'm a freak," divulged the young girl cuttingly, her voice shattering as she hatefully uttered that word, so accurate, so fitting, so her, before burying her face in her hands._

 _She didn't hear him say anything in turn, a strangling silence settling in. So, maybe he agreed. Of course, he would. Everyone ended up thinking the exact same thing of her, sooner or later._

 _A gentle hand then touched her shoulder lightly, leading her to immediately snap her head up and hesitantly eye the other with a wary, apprehensive gaze._

" _Yeah, I heard."_

 _But he wasn't judging at all. He wasn't mocking. He wasn't loathing. Nor was he afraid of her._

 _Rather than all that, his warm, blue eyes were understanding and the small, gentle smile was light-hearted, yet seemed just as dejected as she felt. And at his next six words, she knew why._

" _But no worries. So am I."_

 _And that's how, out of nowhere and nothing, Uzumaki Naruto became her second, best friend._

"Yo, Sakura-chan! You there? _Hellooooo_?"

Both Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke were considering the front door in utter silence, seemingly calm. But, internally, they were going through a rollercoaster of feels. _None_ of which were reassuring, not with the violent thrill and tantalizing anticipation running furiously wild through their veins.

Their entertainment had suddenly bypassed and soared to a whole other level, a far better one. Their victim's stricken and silent state of shock said it all.

Seeing her so afflicted and depressed had their cold, dark eyes go alit with sadistic relish. What a turn of events this was, wasn't it?

As two insanely broad grins stretched steadily across their now considerably ominous features, they both had to resist the relentless urge to rush head first into a frenzy and go totally berserk, right there and then.

The fun would be over far too fast that way. ...Now what a true and utter shame that would be.

They both preferred to take things slow, to _drag_ the pain, anguish and suffering along as much and as long as they were able to. Where only _one_ victim was concerned.

Here, the options were _limitless_. All the siblings had to do was keep their calm and find a way to lure them in. After all, those on the other side of the door had _no_ idea of the situation inside...

"Come. Let's be polite and invite them in, Otouto," declared the eldest, leading his younger brother's wicked smirk to widen, whilst cruelly bringing the third party back to the present with that statement, watching them with a horrified and distressed aspect to her blanched features "Have them join the fun."

Clearly, whoever those two outside were, they seemed to be _very_ important to the young pink-haired woman. And her reactions just now only served to confirm that - though Sasuke really had to wonder how someone _so_ obnoxious sounding could be significant to anyone.

Just _hearing_ that guy's voice made him want to go on and straight out punch him in the teeth...

"...P- _Please_."

Two pair of black eyes fully regarded their now trembling prey, pink locks darkening her eyes.

The woman had briefly shut down for some reason, like it had been the end of the world for her. And this, upon hearing who stood at the door. This had been her first time speaking since.

"Ho?" voiced the younger sibling with a twistedly elated expression as he neared her, with slow predatory-like steps, and leisurely drew out his dagger, with the very clear intention to harm "Are you going to start _begging_? Really? Please do, sweetheart. I'd _**love**_ to hear that."

Without any warning whatsoever, her hand swiftly shot out, reaching out and grabbing hold of the blade heading for her face, before wrapping her fingers around it, her hold staunch and tight.

Speechless, the brothers' eyes widened at the young woman's sudden and unexpected boldness. And the youngest sibling was even more stunned to find that he was utterly _incapable_ of pulling his dagger free. It just wouldn't budge from her unremitting grip.

It was like nothing would deter her from holding on, not even the steady drip drop of blood it was drawing, from digging deep into her skin as she held on fast and firm.

All of a sudden, Sasuke received a falcon punch to the gut, one that cut off his breath completely and made him drop to his knees on the floor at Sakura's feet, while she kept hold of the dagger.

Pulling out his own blades just in case, the eldest of the Uchiha didn't hesitate a second to rush to his brother's side, who was coughing out sharply and trying to gather his bearings.

Totally taken aback by what had just happened, as neither had seen it coming, they then turned lethal gazes, at the same time, upon the young woman using a strength no purposely weakened and tormented person should _ever_ have. When the siblings both tensed, eyes going wider still.

Rather than gentle emerald green, he and his brother were being glared at by raging gold irises gleaming starkly upon pitch black sclera _**(3)**_ which, due to being hooded by a stray array of her bangs, were made to seem ghostlier than what they already appeared to be.

Notably since it honestly looked like, given her current stance and the dagger in her possession, she was going to attack. And _nothing_ was going to be able to hold her back. ...Not even them.

" _DON'T_!" cried out Sakura suddenly in sheer and utter desperation, her choked tone pleading, desperately beseeching as she frantically covered her face, dropping the dagger as she did so. And for some reason, the siblings had this eerie feeling that she wasn't talking to either of them.

Staining her features red as she heaved and gasped for breath, she shook horribly, fingers parted across her face, letting them see that- Her eyes were green. Wide, but focused. And _very_ afraid.

Still slightly stunned, the Uchiha siblings dared a glance at each other. ...Had they imagined it?

Gradually sinking down to her knees, the young pink-haired woman breathed out harshly, her heart beating so fast she was sure it was going to give out any minute now, whilst heavy horror consumed her...for she had been but seconds away from fully losing control to her _Other_ _Self_.

Her condition was becoming _critical_ now, independently of the situation she was ensnared in. She felt cornered, like an utterly powerless mouse, and running out of options rather rapidly.

If she actually chose to give in to the impulse and temptation of letting her _Darker Half_ out- _Hell_ , she could only shudder with unrelenting terror at the mere thought.

Yes, she didn't want to have more blood on her hands than she already did, but she'd rather let that _thing_ inside her loose, than live - or die - with the guilt of not doing a thing for her friends.

Only, _should_ she give up control - which, alas, would be all of it - to her _Other Self_ , she had no guarantee whatsoever that that side of her would stop where it was _supposed_ to. The last thing she wanted was for Naruto and Hinata to see her - or worse, be harmed by her - like _that_.

If she decided to scream out for them to run, Sakura knew without a doubt that they just would _not_ listen, more concerned on immediately coming to her aid than heeding any warning.

But she'd seen what the Uchiha siblings could do and, although both her friends were capable fighters, it was a losing battle. Hands down, since Hinata's... _condition_ would be at terrible risk. And the young pink-haired woman would fully loathe herself if that were to happen. Not that.

If she just sat quietly and didn't do anything, the terror brothers were _going_ to hurt her friends. At this point, whatever Sakura wanted or thought, her own safety, her own life, didn't matter...

That being so, could she-? Could she bargain with them? Honestly, she had no idea if she could.

Regardless of the recent reckless actions her _Other Self_ had just been about to carry out - leading her to wonder if she wouldn't be paying for that somehow - she had noticed that they purposely tended to make things _worse_ , notably if it was so they could simply relish in the fact that they've taken their level of malice and sadism to a higher notch. All madness and psychosis aside, the brothers appeared to _live_ for the thrill and love of causing damage, causing harm and hurt. Pain.

But, if she couldn't reason with herself, perhaps, by some miracle, she could reason with them? She _had to_ try.

"J-Just, please, don't hurt them," she implored in a soft whisper, unable to keep her teeth from clattering under the gravity and pressure of the moment, before hastily adding in case they got the wrong idea "Or k-kill them. Please, don't. I beg you, p-please. _Please_ , I- I'll do what you ask, whatever you want. _Anything_ you want. Anything at all, just-"

"... _Anything_? Really?"

Too astonished and intrigued to be angry - despite the danger she was bit by bit revealing herself to be - the brothers glanced at each other yet again, a silent, ambiguous missive passing between them, before they then shifted their attention to her, slow lethal grins touching their lips whereas the eldest of them drawled out dangerously: "Careful, Haruno-san. That's a _very_ unsafe card to play. Play it, and you can't ever take it back."

Their expressions made Sakura's mouth run dry, distress coursing throughout once more: "I-"

" _Would_ you die for them?" challenged the younger sibling, smirking scathingly, the unuttered words left hanging up high like an ill-omened blade in the air _'With what you_ _ **know**_ _we can do.'_

She _was_ painfully aware. She dared not imagine what Naruto and Hinata would endure should the terror brothers chose to have their way with them. Actually, she didn't need to imagine. That red scrapbook had given her quite the vivid description, one that would haunt her forever.

But since the beginning of this nightmare, she hadn't been given a _single_ outlet by the brothers. Until now. Even if it wasn't for her own sake, it was worth it. Totally worth it.

"Yes. Yes, I would."

Of course, she'd say- Wait. Say _what_ now?

Remaining eerily silent, Itachi and Sasuke blinked, regarding her now with what could be seen as surprise but also pure scepticism.

Neither of the Uchiha were buying her staunch declaration, her unhesitant surrender, her willing and selfless sacrifice.

No. Impossible. This particular woman might be _very_ different than what they were used to, they'd concede to that at least, but-

"You're contradicting yourself. You? ... _Die_? You told me so yourself. You don't _want_ to die."

The young woman instantly locked gazes with Sasuke as he said that, and the honesty in her eyes was too startling to be real: "For them, for my friends, I would. Definitely. In a heartbeat."

There was not a hint of doubt. She _meant_ what she was saying. But _why_? ...It didn't make sense.

Humans were so naturally self-centred and egotistic individuals, always placing their needs first and, hence, ready to do _anything_ to save their own skins.

It was impossible to find someone who'd favour death over life, especially for another's sake. And yet she...

"But if I let you," ventured Sakura cautiously, cutting through their musings as she attempted to, hopefully, find _some_ loophole in this perilous pickle "Let you kill me, how will I know that my friends _will_ be safe? I have no guarantee that you won't harm them as soon as I bleed out. So, will you please _promise_ to leave my friends? If, from here on out, I play...by your rules?"

' _This woman isn't normal,'_ inwardly concluded the Uchiha siblings simultaneously, as if what they had witnessed moments earlier hadn't been any indication.

Wary but intrigued, the brothers found themselves facing a prey like they've never seen before.

The slow creep of the spookiest smiles they have worn yet, would have chilled her to the bone, if she wasn't already distraught as it was. Right now, in this moment, it wasn't _them_ she feared.

"My, what a clever girl. Very well. You have our word, Haruno-san," accepted Itachi eventually with a mock but very graceful and showy bow, his brother faithfully following suit, both unable to hide their wicked jubilation "If you give us yours."

What was that saying again? _'Not everyone who smiles at you is your friend'_ , was it? Obviously. She _knew_ she couldn't, shouldn't trust them. And she wouldn't.

But she honestly couldn't hold back the faint relief she felt. Because, to keep her dearest and only friends she ever had save and sound, all the young pink-haired woman had to do was-

"Alright, then. I'll play."

And that's how, for her friends' sake, Haruno Sakura gave herself _fully_ to the Uchiha brothers.

 **To be continued...**

 **A/N:** And I never said this was going to be a _normal_ AU fic. Note to everyone: rarely anything I write _is_ normal. A pinch of the uncanny, a hint of horror, a slapdash of supernatural, a smear of smut, a ton of dark and angst...And ta-da! My recipe to grim, disaster fics. You're welcome.

And so, the next update, if all, hopefully, goes well, will be sometime in _**May**_ (I, alas, have no further assertion than that). I know, it sounds so far away, but I sincerely promise that I'll be uploading at least **two** (or three) chapters in that time. I just need a little time to flesh it all out.

Until then, ladies, gents and everybody else, take care! _Bella_ Ciao!

 _ **(1)**_ Yes, Tsunade's family name is never mentioned. But according to the series, if she's Senju Hashirama's granddaughter, then she's of the Senju Clan too. ...I might be _**entirely**_ off though.

 _ **(2)**_ A fleeting OC character I needed for the flow of the story. Nothing to fret over, I'm afraid.

 _ **(3)**_ References, references, everybody. Does anyone know what I'm hinting at here? Little clue. I've taken inspiration from _two_ fandoms. Golden irises on black sclera. Reminds you of anyone?

 **Next Chapter, Preview:**

" _I wouldn't mind the company however, Sakura-san. Have ourselves a good old girl talk. If you want to, that is."_

 _Though Sakura's cheeks quite visibly lost what little colour they had left, she firmly kept her act up, letting out a little laugh of delight at the thought of her friend's offer._

 _But, inside, she was screaming bloody murder at the top of her lungs, crying out in sheer terror: 'All I want is for you to stop talking, Hina-chan, Naruto. Both of you, please, PLEASE, just stop talking. Not another word, damn it! Just drop it!'_

 _She didn't know what to do. This was all taking a turn she hadn't expected, a dangerous one. Her friends had picked up that something was wrong, even if they weren't too sure what it was._

 _And she was grateful, bless them._

 _In a different situation, she would have promptly and easily accepted the possibility to flee, jumping right at it._

 _But given the deadly change in demeanour she caught from the corner of her eye of the younger Uchiha seated right next to her - his whole posture shifting dramatically, drastically, as if about ready to attack - she just couldn't risk it._


End file.
